Public Employee Press

Mail and Media
Ending rent controls will end housing shortage

I’d like to respond to the editorial “The power of the people” in the June 2008 issue.

While politicians are responsible for the mounting foreclosures and the lack of affordable housing in New YorkCity, conservatives are hardly the only culprit. During the Carter administration, a Democrat and Republican consensus helped pass the Community Reinvestment Act to stem redlining practices. Banks were threatened with prosecutions if they didn’t comply, and many felt pressures to lend to those with dubious credit histories.

New York City politicians (overwhelmingly Democrats) are responsible for 65 years of rent controls. According to the Cato Institute, in a survey of 75 of the world’s leading economists done during the 1980s, J.R. Kearl and his colleagues concluded that “A ceiling on rents will reduce the quality and quantity of housing.”

I would much rather just have city taxpayer-funded subsidies for low-income individuals or those too disabled to move. How fair is it to have some tenant pay far less rent than his neighbor just because he’s been there longer? I recommend that rent control advocates visit other cities without controls, such as Chicago, and note the greater availability of moderately priced housing.

Yes, ending controls may force some people to move, but it sure beats a perennial housing shortage.

—Steven Kalka
Computer Specialist, Local 2627