Latest from the Calgary Herald
Here's my latest from the Herald on Rent Control. The Herald ran a pro-rent control column to counter my arguments. It was very good and made some strong points. In the interst of journalistic lack of integrity, and an ode to William Randolph Hearst and his Hollywood counterpart Charles Foster Kane, here is only my side of the argument:
A dumb idea that sounds good: Two views on the debate over rent controls
Calgary Herald
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Page: A12
Section: The Editorial Page
Byline: Dave Ryan
Column: Dave Ryan
Source: For The Calgary Herald
Dumb ideas have a way of sounding so good. Rent control is a dumb idea that sounds good.
Rent control is in the news these days, primarily because of one account of an individual's rent increasing 112 per cent per month. The issue picked up a little more steam after Premier Ralph Klein's would-be successors were asked to comment on the issue.
Most of them pulled out their copy of conservatism 101, turned to the economics section and recited chapter and verse "any economic question is best answered by saying the market works best when unfettered by government control."
Unfortunately for Dave Hancock, he alone among those hoping to jump into Klein's shoes chose to tacitly support the concept of rent control.
I'm convinced that when someone is elected, he or she is given a little handbook that provides policy ideas which, while dim and shortsighted, will placate voters. Rent control is a great example of this type of policy. It is one of those knee-jerk, easy-fix solutions that has all the elements politicians love.
Untamed rent sounds menacing. Taming this monster appears strong and caring.
Landlords are wealthy, powerful and uncaring. Renters are the helpless little guys.
One or two unfortunate stories can be used to validate support of rent control even when all common sense and history oppose the concept.
It's not just me who thinks rent control is a stupid idea -- smart people agree, too. In a poll of 211 economists done in the late 1970s and reported in the American Economic Review, 98 per cent of respondents agreed that "a ceiling on rents reduces the quantity and quality of housing available." This group included right-wing economists such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek and lefties such as Gunnar Myrdal (all Nobel Prize winners).
In other words, the concept of rent control is so hopeless that even socialists and capitalists agree on its futility.
In a 1988 paper for Canadian Public Policy, more than 400 Canadian economists were polled on their position on contentious economic issues such as minimum wage, wage-price controls and rent control. Rent control garnered the highest consensus among the economists of any issue polled with more than 80 per cent opposing the concept.
Even when proponents of rent control move past the heartstrings into more intellectual attempts at justifying it, their arguments are as befuddled as Mel Gibson at a checkstop.
Many who support rent control complain that landlords neglect to maintain rental properties. While this may be a valid concern, it has nothing to do with the price of rent. If slumlords are neglectful when they can reap the highest rent possible, limiting their income through rent control will not make them put more money into the upkeep of the premises. Bylaws, fines or penalties may help this issue, but limiting their rental income won't.
If you favour rent control and are of the opinion renters should not bear the burden of price inflation, why do you think shifting this burden to property owners is any more fair or just?
If a renter is paying $1,000 per month to a landlord who paid $250,000 for the property, why should a person who purchases this property in today's market for $500,000 be forced to honour this rental rate?
Isn't it as unjust that families who could once afford a home in Calgary on a middle-class income are now forced to rent because the increasing cost of housing has priced them out of the market?
Why don't those who favour rent control call for legislation that controls the sale of property? (Note to socialists and editors of Handbook of Stupid and Shortsighted Ideas for Politicians: This is one of those dumb ideas that sounds good; do not take up the cause of price controls on property sales).
Rent control is a dumb idea that shifts the burden of inflation to property owners and does nothing to solve the underlying issues arising from inflationary growth.
Blaming landlords for high rental rates is like blaming the Wright brothers for terrorism plots involving airplanes.
Dave Ryan is an investigative humorist.
A dumb idea that sounds good: Two views on the debate over rent controls
Calgary Herald
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Page: A12
Section: The Editorial Page
Byline: Dave Ryan
Column: Dave Ryan
Source: For The Calgary Herald
Dumb ideas have a way of sounding so good. Rent control is a dumb idea that sounds good.
Rent control is in the news these days, primarily because of one account of an individual's rent increasing 112 per cent per month. The issue picked up a little more steam after Premier Ralph Klein's would-be successors were asked to comment on the issue.
Most of them pulled out their copy of conservatism 101, turned to the economics section and recited chapter and verse "any economic question is best answered by saying the market works best when unfettered by government control."
Unfortunately for Dave Hancock, he alone among those hoping to jump into Klein's shoes chose to tacitly support the concept of rent control.
I'm convinced that when someone is elected, he or she is given a little handbook that provides policy ideas which, while dim and shortsighted, will placate voters. Rent control is a great example of this type of policy. It is one of those knee-jerk, easy-fix solutions that has all the elements politicians love.
Untamed rent sounds menacing. Taming this monster appears strong and caring.
Landlords are wealthy, powerful and uncaring. Renters are the helpless little guys.
One or two unfortunate stories can be used to validate support of rent control even when all common sense and history oppose the concept.
It's not just me who thinks rent control is a stupid idea -- smart people agree, too. In a poll of 211 economists done in the late 1970s and reported in the American Economic Review, 98 per cent of respondents agreed that "a ceiling on rents reduces the quantity and quality of housing available." This group included right-wing economists such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek and lefties such as Gunnar Myrdal (all Nobel Prize winners).
In other words, the concept of rent control is so hopeless that even socialists and capitalists agree on its futility.
In a 1988 paper for Canadian Public Policy, more than 400 Canadian economists were polled on their position on contentious economic issues such as minimum wage, wage-price controls and rent control. Rent control garnered the highest consensus among the economists of any issue polled with more than 80 per cent opposing the concept.
Even when proponents of rent control move past the heartstrings into more intellectual attempts at justifying it, their arguments are as befuddled as Mel Gibson at a checkstop.
Many who support rent control complain that landlords neglect to maintain rental properties. While this may be a valid concern, it has nothing to do with the price of rent. If slumlords are neglectful when they can reap the highest rent possible, limiting their income through rent control will not make them put more money into the upkeep of the premises. Bylaws, fines or penalties may help this issue, but limiting their rental income won't.
If you favour rent control and are of the opinion renters should not bear the burden of price inflation, why do you think shifting this burden to property owners is any more fair or just?
If a renter is paying $1,000 per month to a landlord who paid $250,000 for the property, why should a person who purchases this property in today's market for $500,000 be forced to honour this rental rate?
Isn't it as unjust that families who could once afford a home in Calgary on a middle-class income are now forced to rent because the increasing cost of housing has priced them out of the market?
Why don't those who favour rent control call for legislation that controls the sale of property? (Note to socialists and editors of Handbook of Stupid and Shortsighted Ideas for Politicians: This is one of those dumb ideas that sounds good; do not take up the cause of price controls on property sales).
Rent control is a dumb idea that shifts the burden of inflation to property owners and does nothing to solve the underlying issues arising from inflationary growth.
Blaming landlords for high rental rates is like blaming the Wright brothers for terrorism plots involving airplanes.
Dave Ryan is an investigative humorist.
posted by Dave Ryan | 9:15 a.m.
3 Comments:
I never liked him either. It would be interesting to cross reference Bronco's donors with those in the development biz. Bet those guys are licking their chops at potential new funds.
Your T.O. bud,
Leon
PS: your viewpoints are coming perilously close to sounding like rants a la Rosey
It's painfully obvious you are a home owner, you bought at lease five years ago, and have not had to endure the despair of losing the place you try your best to call home due to a rent hike of 300 percent, because your landlord wants to ensure all tenants vacate the building so that condos may be born. You don't mention landlords participating in the greed of the housing market, converting rental units to tiny condos, ridiculously priced yet sold within hours - but I think this puts a bit of a dent in your anti-rent control thoughts, don't you think? There are less rental units in Calgary now than there were in the '80's, and a large percent of the problem is due in fact to landlords converting to condos, something rent control would put a damper on.) Try spending SIX hours a DAY for three months, to find ANYTHING, not to mention the thousand bucks a month plus utilities I have to pay for the only place I did find. And trust me, it's an apartment that is nothing special. Oh, and I get to look forward to moving again this year, since a year lease was the longest I could sign, and rents in this building have gone up 40 percent since I moved in. I'll go head to head any day with you on this one. You fit in perfectly with "rich Alberta" because you are unable to see individual needs, individuals obviously BELOW you - and 80 percent of us are in that category of Albertans suffering, not prospering, from this boom. And I bet you still sleep at night, all secure in your very own home, comfortable in your ways of thinking less of others, not realizing these others have monthly rental payments that are likely higher than your mortgage.. And unlike your safe little mortgage, these payments can and will go up to whatever, whenever.
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