this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 41 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's almost as if Harris knows how much Trump loves playing with his real estate

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Her campaign so far has been a masterclass in trolling. Can't wait for the next Truth meltdown to drop.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

enforce fair housing laws

Hopefully this includes not kicking out people who can still pay rent, just so the landlord can have themselves a weekend vacation cabin or higher-priced rental. And there should be a law forcing landlords to offer a rent-to-own option. Also, how about recalculating inflation to account for every expense that has gone up, so that the percentage a landlord can raise rent each year isn't so damned high. While we're being fair, of course :|

[–] [email protected] 35 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I agree with everything you said except for this:

And there should be a law forcing landlords to offer a rent-to-own option.

I generally don't think there should be laws forcing individual citizens to sell anything they own. I could however be on board with government regulated and incentivized rent-to-own programs.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (13 children)

Owner Occupancy credit against property taxes. Sometimes called a "homestead exemption".

Basically, if you live in a house you own, you pay a vastly lower property tax rate. If you own a house you don't live in, you pay a vastly higher property tax rate on that house, because you can't claim the exemption.

When we establish this, "landlords" stop "renting" and become private mortgage lenders. They sell their homes to their former tenants, or issue "land contracts" (rent-to-own arrangements), and enjoy the lower tax rate on the property.

If they foreclose or evict, they pay the higher tax rate until they get a new "buyer".

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Honestly, I don't feel like landlords should even exist

Sure, maybe renting can still exist, as long as it's cheaper and government run or something. I would much much rather give my rent to the government than some rich fuck who literally gets my money for free

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Whether or not they should exist is basically irrelevant. They do and that's not something we're likely to see change. Also, sometimes renting is a better fit for people at certain phases of their life.

In exchange for a reasonable rent, a landlord is responsible for ensuring that the building is kept safe and well maintained and that any necessary repairs happen as quickly as is reasonably possible. What I'd really like to see is landlords being held accountable for failing to do so.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I understand what you're saying and I did feel weird typing that since I know there must be a better alternative.

Something has to give, though. In late June I had to leave a place I rented for 19 years and I'm still stunned. Idk how much of the house's value we paid in rent, but it was a lot. And it wasn't even a large home, just a small cabin few people would wish to live in. But there was nothing stopping the landlord from kicking us to the curb.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Idk how much of the house’s value we paid in rent, but it was a lot.

Definitely 80-100% of it.

Almost 20 years of renting, if all of that including the (almost certain) increases had been applied to the original mortgage you'd likely own it by now.

They charge you everything they're charged plus add on a profit margin. That profit margin if applied to principle on a standard 30 year mortgage would've paid it off earlier.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What protections for renters? They basically have none. Let’s see some implemented!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Lol read the article for answers to your question

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

It’s a rhetorical question. It’s meant to underline how I think the protections are grossly insufficient.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago

Why won't anyone think of the tax investors on wall st?!

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Somehow it won't get done in her first term but vote her back in and she promises it will get done in her second term. How do I know? Because every single president does the same exact thing.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Because every single president does the same exact thing.

What are you talking about?

Biden got about as much as he could get through a Republican controlled House and a filibustering Senate: a major COVID relief bill, a major infrastructure bill, and a major environmental reform bill.

Trump did a shitload in his one term:

  • Replaced 3 Supreme Court justices and a lot of lower court judges who went on to overturn Roe v. Wade and Chevron, deliver a shitload of conservative decisions, and block a bunch of Biden executive actions (including student loan forgiveness, all sorts of COVID policies, and a bunch of economic regulations).
  • Major tax cuts in 2017 for corporations and high earners
  • Withdrew from the Paris accords and rolled back a lot of Obama EPA regs
  • Made shifts towards privatization of k-12 education, including towards religious private schools.

Obama signed a bunch of stuff into law his first two years:

  • Obamacare
  • Universal healthcare for children under S-CHIP
  • Student loan reform, creating public service loan forgiveness and much better repayment plans while cutting out private lenders who took all the upside with none of the downside.
  • Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
  • Repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell
  • Passed Dodd Frank, including the creation of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau
  • School lunch reform

Bush campaigned on tax cuts and got them, and then got a bunch of other stuff in from his first term related to 9/11 and the aftermath: The Patriot Act, authorization for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc.

If anything, presidents are far less effective their second term than their first term.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What a terrible reply. I never said presidents don't get anything done in their first term. Just pointing out how a lot of shit they campaign on doesn't get done so they campaign on the same shit again.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (3 children)

And they're telling you you're wrong. Biden campaigned on getting stuff done and he got stuff done. Don't project your pessimism onto everyone else, it's not helpful

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

And yet this flawed process has still accomplished more than edgy cynicism ever has.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Most presidents get tripped up by Congress and the filibuster.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (3 children)

While you're probably right, there really isn't a better choice here. It is what it is.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Promises mean dogshit in this day and age

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

You're getting downvoted, but it's true. They aren't obligated to stick to campaign promises. And often don't, or get hamstring by legal hurdles and/or congress.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

Yep. And the further feasibly left we vote the more likely we are to see those kinds of things happen. It has to be consistent and it has to be the furthest left that can actually win.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

She hasn't promised anything. It just says she is supporting a proposal.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago

It's not social housing, but it's certainly a step in the right direction

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Don't protect "renters". The entire concept of "renting" needs to die in a fucking fire.

Instead, we need to jack up taxes on residential properties. Send them to the moon. $2000/yr? Fuck that: $2000/month.

But nobody actually pays these exorbitant rates, because we create an "Owner Occupancy Credit". The tax rate is only high if the owner doesn't live in the home.

What happens to renters? Do landlords jack up their prices to cover the increased property taxes? Or do they offer their tenants a private mortgage or a land contract, so they don't have to pay the hiked taxes?

When they can make more money as a lender than as a landlord, they aren't going to be renting anymore. Establish an owner occupancy credit, and "landlords" will be fighting tooth and nail to convert tenants into buyers.

(The actual tax rate should target an 85% owner occupancy rate. When more than 20% of the population is renting, the non-occupant tax rate is increased 1% per year. When less than 10% is renting, the non-occupant tax rate is dropped 1% per year. )

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Nah, nonprofit state-run landlords (in countries which have them) are great, and strong protections for renters are good. I don't want to buy a house, I move around a lot, don't wanna deal with lawyers every time I move, don't wanna be responsible for maintenance, I just want some basic level of security and not to be completely ripped off.

Why is 85% the magic number? Just because you say so? I do agree that increased property taxes are important, but there's no reason not to also make rental contracts less exploitative.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (4 children)

How would you handle apartment buildings?

Making them all Condo’s possible I suppose but, there’d be a lot of poorly maintained buildings no one would want to actually own part of

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (3 children)

NY has this. What you have described is the STAR tax credit. This credit only applies to school taxes (2-3k a year)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

NBC News - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)Information for NBC News:

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Search topics on Ground.Newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/harris-endorse-protections-renters-removal-key-tax-benefits-wall-st-in-rcna166821
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Maybe that helps, in general private equity or owners need a cap on purchasing rental housing units

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