Single mom Caitlyn Colbert watched as rent for her two-bedroom apartment doubled, then tripled and then quadrupled over a decade in Denver — from $750 to $3,374 last year.
Every month, like millions of Americans, Colbert juggled her costs. Pay rent or swim team fees for one of her three kids. Rent or school supplies. Rent or groceries. Colbert, a social worker who helps people stay financially afloat, would often arrive home to notices giving her 30 days to pay rent and a late fee or face eviction.
“Every month you just gotta budget and then you still fall short,” she said, adding what became a monthly refrain: “Well, this month at least we have $13 left.”
Millions of Americans, especially people of color, are facing those same, painful decisions as a record number struggle with unaffordable rent increases, a crisis fueled by rising prices from inflation, a shortage of affordable housing and the end of pandemic relief.
The latest data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, released in January, found that a record high 22.4 million renter households — or half of renters nationwide — were spending more than 30% of their income on rent in 2022. The number of affordable units — with rents under $600 — also dropped to 7.2 million that year, 2.1 million fewer than a decade earlier.
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In Congress, lawmakers are working on a bill that would expand a federal program that awards tax credits to housing developers who agree to set aside units for low-income tenants. Supporters say that could lead to the construction of 200,000 more affordable homes. Some lawmakers are also calling for more rental assistance, including a significant increase in funding for housing vouchers.
Meanwhile companies are raking in record profits, and the rich get richer. This won’t stop until the workers seize the means of production.
Hidin’ Biden, unironically: “I don’t get it, the economy is doing so good, why aren’t you people happy?!”
Yes the great republican lie, that the president single handedly controls the economy with a little knob under the desk in the oval office…
bruh, what?
no, bidey is literally out there boasting about how “good” the economy is doing. And by the traditional measures of economy, he’s right. Stock market hitting all time highs, record low unemployment, record high oil production, etc.
But, the reality on the ground includes a record high population of unhoused people, over 60% of Americans who cannot afford an emergency $400 bill, unchecked greed by rent seeking corporate landlords, and people working 2-3 jobs at once and still unable to make it work, living paycheck to paycheck with no hope of affording basic preventative medical care.
It’s a late stage capitalistic hellscape, and we are constantly gaslighted into believing it’s normal from all sides of the political spectrum. This isn’t a “guhh, republicans bad.” It’s a “dude, America is fucked and we need to change course NOW or the empire will fall.”
Not telling me anything I already know. But your context of what you meant clarifies things. But I’d argue the empire will fall due to DT being elected sooner than it will fall because of our fucked up economy. So “so what” if politicians are politicianing. We just need to get past 2024 and then we can try to fix the real problems.
Don’t you people own phones? Level of disconnect coming out of the white house lately.
I own a place that I rent out. I am having a hard time figuring out how people are charging $3,000 plus a month. I don’t charge anywhere near that. The only time I raise my rent is when the city increases the cost of their taxes/fees, or if insurance for some reason goes up. Is it actually that expensive for property taxes and other things there or is just greed?
Lol the tool who downvoted you after reading your first sentence but couldn’t be bothered to read the rest…
But yes the answer is absolutely greed. And the naivety that “oh look this place over here rented for $500 more I guess I can charge $500 more too…” + “Why would I lose out on $6000/yr?!” + “If I still rent out for what I was renting it out for some losers will just move in.” + “This is how an investment works! I get more money because time and not because I actually improved the home to justify $500 more.” … The list goes on …
It’s been a few decades since I’ve rented, and my previous landlord was very transparent with providing information about increased taxes and utilities to explain why rent was increasing. He knew that if he just increased it for the lolz, I’d happily just find another place to rent.
With the market being the way it is, the shortage has provided the leverage crooked people can use against renters.
I do wonder how many landlords are crooked, and how many are being forced to drive up rent due to the rise of excessive tax hikes, insurance premiums, utilities, maintenance and labor costs, etc. I know personally, my home’s property taxes have more than tripled in the past 5 years. I’m now priced out of my neighborhood.
Just tax the parasites (sorry, i mean landlords) at an appropriate rate and give the money directly back to the renters. If they raise rents raise the taxes. Make it automatic. For the people.
Land value tax is all that’s needed.
As long as its legal to build alternative property.
The reason that rent is expensive but the house is shit, is because the house is actually worthless and the land is valuable. If people got taxed on the land they would be incentivised to knock it down and build much higher density that the market demands. It’s honestly a failing of the market that houses are so low density in such high value land.
This would absolutely decrease rent and can also allow for better public transport.
Mix use developments will also help a lot.
What you mention will not work at all.
Capitalism is forgetting that the number one rule of being a parasite is that you don’t kill the host.
The rule is “don’t kill the host before you’ve had a chance to reproduce.” Capitalism is good at finding new hosts.
I meant host in the sense of the planet and humanity. So their only hope will be mars :)
