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hippiepotluck t1_jdiut7g wrote

Reply to comment by 4low4low4low4low in A critique of Brave Little State's segment on Airbnbs by headgasketidiot

We don’t have to seize them. We just need to tax them appropriately so that short term and long term rental income becomes more equal.

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headgasketidiot OP t1_jdj1ej3 wrote

In 1970, due to widespread inflation, Nixon issued an executive order that stopped all price and wage increases. It made them illegal. In 2022-2023, we have serious inflation, yet supposedly much more progressive administration is so staunchly neoliberal that anything other than tinkering around the margins of the market is heresy.

The government is the only institution in public life that has any democratic accountability, but the neoliberal hegemony is so overwhelming, that in just 50 years, no one can imagine its role being anything other than minor nudges to the market, hoping it'll tweak the incentive structure a bit.

We need to start thinking bigger than just making our already insane tax structure even more insane in the hopes that it'll convince markets to have more moral outcomes. I don't know what the answer is, but the conversations being had right now are so narrow that we're never going to find it.

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hippiepotluck t1_jdjmuzb wrote

What does thinking bigger mean to you?

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headgasketidiot OP t1_jdjojht wrote

I started my comment to you with what I think is a great example that's super relevant to the moment, though not the topic at hand. If you're asking about housing specifically, I would like to see the government actually do things directly to fix housing. Just ban airbnb for anything not owner-occupied. Offer social housing directly. I'd love to see proposals on ways to build it, eminent domain strategic STRs and vacation homes, whatever else policy dorks dream up. I'd like to see a conversation switch to actually directly addressing the problem instead of everything being ticky tacky tax here and disicinenvize there.

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hippiepotluck t1_jdk347t wrote

I would agree with all of this, I just don’t know how to get momentum behind any new ideas. There’s so much resistance to any kind of change.

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Galadrond t1_jdllfhi wrote

At this rate I’m 100% for seizing corporate owned STR properties and turning them into social housing.

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