UBI can Reduce Homelessness

[Quetzal]

What benefit do you see to the wealthy
by keeping people poor & homeless?

Hmm, I think the answer is more complicated. Consider: it isn't a secret that wealthy institutions do not pay the appropriate taxes (this can be in the form of corporations or individuals). These taxes could be allocated to the expansion of safety nets to assist the poor and homeless. (Don't ask me for details, I just work here.)

To answer the question directly, I don't think the wealthy directly benefit but the idea that they are able to hoard wealth to the magnitude they are able to (talking 1% here), does have a direct negative impact on the impoverished.

 

[Revoltingest]

Hmm, I think the answer is more complicated. Consider: it isn't a secret that wealthy institutions do not pay the appropriate taxes (this can be in the form of corporations or individuals).

Why do you think corporations don't pay adequate taxes?
And do you know that they pay taxes on income, & then
after distributing income to stockholders, they again pay
income taxes on income that was previously taxed?

These taxes could be allocated to the expansion of safety nets to assist the poor and homeless. (Don't ask me for details, I just work here.)

Voters don't elect leaders who would loosen restrictions
that would ease the lives of homeless, or aid to them.

To answer the question directly, I don't think the wealthy directly benefit but the idea that they are able to hoard wealth to the magnitude they are able to (talking 1% here), does have a direct negative impact on the impoverished.

That's pretty weak.

 

[Quetzal]

Voters don't elect leaders who would loosen restrictions
that would ease the lives of homeless, or aid to them.

That is a very broad statement that I don't think you can prove.

That's pretty weak.

The great news is I don't care what you think.

 

[Viker]

This.

That.

 

[Viker]

No one wants to pay for it. The rich won't, the poor can't, and everyone else is already paying for EVERYTHING as it is. And even if we gave people enough money to actually rent an apartment, it would only drive the cost of rents up beyond their reach, again, because there just isn't enough housing to keep the prices down. And no one wants to build housing for poor or working people. The big money is in building housing for the well to do.

There is plenty of housing in major cities like mine. Plenty of homes and buildings are just boarded up, for whatever reasons, and not because they are slated for condemning or demolition either. Vacant spaces just sitting there taking up space while more people hit the streets.

 

[Revoltingest]

That is a very broad statement that I don't think you can prove.

As a landlord, I've had a front row seat.
Easy enuf to prove if one considers...
- Laws criminalizing vague "loitering".
- Zoning laws prohibiting smaller homes.
- Lack of money devoted to assisting homeless
overcome difficulties that prevent employment.
- Housing codes that prevent cost effective
living arrangements.
- Zoning laws accomplishing the same as
housing codes.

The great news is I don't care what you think.

I care deeply about that.
I've been ruing it all day.
Well, just most of the day.
Actually, just part of the afternoon.
Between 3pm & 4pm.
In between painting walls & talking to a tenant.

 

[Drunk_Uncle_Bob]

That's just it. Supply andd demand would NOT be shifted, only the price point would change. The only way to shift supply and demand is to increase/decrease demand, or increase/decrease supply. We don't need to give people money for rent. We need to build lots more affordable housing, and give people decent paying jobs.

Agreed. Although alternate take as well on the housing is that we need to decomodify houses in general. The only reason housing is so expensive now isn't because we don't have enough houses. Its because they are being hoarded by people (corporations) as market investments rather than for their intended use. Its like imagine if car prices skyrocketed but it wasn't because we didn't have enough cars but rather scalpers buying incredible amounts of them because they see them as investments rather than as tools.

 

[The Hammer]

There is plenty of housing in major cities like mine. Plenty of homes and buildings are just boarded up, for whatever reasons, and not because they are slated for condemning or demolition either. Vacant spaces just sitting there taking up space while more people hit the streets.

Yup it's about affordability. We need to cap rent prices, or cap the amount that is legally increasable on rent. I had my rent increase 16% one time.

 

[Quetzal]

I care deeply about that.
I've been ruing it all day.
Well, just most of the day.
Actually, just part of the afternoon.
Between 3pm & 4pm.
In between painting walls & talking to a tenant.

Oh come on, I have to be worth thinking about while painting the walls! The tenant has financial gain so I get it.

 

[Revoltingest]

Yup it's about affordability. We need to cap rent prices, or cap the amount that is legally increasable on rent. I had my rent increase 16% one time.

If you can also cap property tax increases, interest rate increases,
utility rate increases, tenant damage increases, legal cost increases,
contractor rate increases, material cost increases, staff pay increases,
government fee increases, etc, you just might get some support.

 

[Quetzal]

If you can also cap property tax increases, interest rate increases,
utility rate increases, tenant damage increases, legal cost increases,
contractor rate increases, material cost increases, staff pay increases,
government fee increases, etc, you just might get some support.

I would vote for that but I don't have a good view of how taxes are allocated. That is a piece of the puzzle that seems to be intentionally obscured.

 

[Revoltingest]

I would vote for that but I don't have a good view of how taxes are allocated. That is a piece of the puzzle that seems to be intentionally obscured.

Here, rental properties pay twice the
property tax that homeowners do
(for a given assessed value).

Oh, government should pay all legal
expenses for a property owner who
successfully wins appeal for an wrongful
tax increase.

 

[Quetzal]

Why do you think corporations don't pay adequate taxes?
And do you know that they pay taxes on income, & then
after distributing income to stockholders, they again pay
income taxes on income that was previously taxed?

Okay, snark-free response this time. I realized in considering these questions that I don't actually know. A lot of what I am basing my knowledge on here is biased feedback from other sources. A weakness in my understanding for sure.

 

[Quetzal]

Here, rental properties pay twice the
property tax that homeowners do
(for a given assessed value).

Really? Why is that?

 

[Revoltingest]

Okay, snark-free response this time. I realized in considering these questions that I don't actually know. A lot of what I am basing my knowledge on here is biased feedback from other sources. A weakness in my understanding for sure.

That is a rare & refreshing kind of answer for RF.

 

[Revoltingest]

Really? Why is that?

It's the law.
I speculate that homeowners are a far larger
voting block than rental property owners.
So the former vote themselves a discount.
Renters pay the cost.

 

[Quetzal]

It's the law.
I speculate that homeowners are a far larger
voting block than rental property owners.
So the former vote themselves a discount.

Which is fair and I get the wanting to vote yourself a discount. But it feels like it is punishing landlords for... what exactly? Don't get me wrong, I don't have much love for the slimey landlords, but most I have interacted with have been fine.

 

[Revoltingest]

Which is fair and I get the wanting to vote yourself a discount. But it feels like it is punishing landlords for... what exactly?

Landlords all compete with each other.
All costs are passed to tenants.
At least that's how it works without rent control.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have much love for the slimey landlords, but most I have interacted with have been fine.

Do you love slimy tenants?

 

[PureX]

There is plenty of housing in major cities like mine. Plenty of homes and buildings are just boarded up, for whatever reasons, and not because they are slated for condemning or demolition either. Vacant spaces just sitting there taking up space while more people hit the streets.

Those spaces need money to make them viable. And no one wants to pay for it. Many were abandoned in debt to the banks. And they aren’t going to throw money at a indebted property. They just want to write it off.

it always comes down to money. To build, renovate, or allocate more affordable housing costs money that the middle class just doesn’t have, anymore.

 

[Quetzal]

Do you love slimy tenants?

Not as much as I love extra vowels!