Comment on No one really understands our struggle

• AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Landlording is inherently immoral and explotative, not matter hoe “”“ethical”“” the landlord is.

  That’s what I’m not seeing. Can you explain what makes it inherently immortal?

  source

  • gmtom@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    The explanation depends on how deep or philosophical you want to go on this conversation, but basically you are exploiting someone’s basic need for shelter for massive profit, keeping trapped in the poverty cycle as they are having to pay rent to the landlord to pay their mortgage for them and so is much harder to save for their own house. As well as reducing supply of housing on the market, thus increasing prices and making it more innacessible.

    Like imagine a group of a few wealthy people buying a town’s supply of food then selling it back to the hungry residents at a 300% markup. They don’t grow it, they don’t transport it, cook it or chsnge it, they don’t do anything that ads value, just buy it and sell it at a higher price, to the people that would have otherwise bought it for themselves. Do you consider that ethical?

    source

    • AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Like imagine a group of a few wealthy people buying a town’s supply of food then selling it back to the hungry residents at a 300% markup.

      Okay, that’s clearly exploitative and unethical, but that’s not inherently what landlords do. Anyone who sells products or services can do it in a way that’s fair or is unfair. The mere act of selling something itself isn’t unethical. Look at the conversations we have about drug companies. I don’t think anyone argues that drug companies shouldn’t be able to sell medication, or even make some profit for their research investments. The problem is when they price their drugs way above what’s reasonable just because they know people are going to have to pay it.

      Renting out a house isn’t different from renting out anything else. You go on vacation and you need a car while there, but you don’t want to buy one for a short time, so you rent one. The rental agency used their money to buy the car, then they rent it to you for something you’re willing to pay for a week, and they make a profit from all the people who rent the car over its life. You both win. Why is it any different with a house?

      source

      • lone_faerie@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        The problem is when they price their drugs way above what’s reasonable just because they know people are going to have to pay it.

        This is exactly the problem with landlords. The argument for landlords being that some people can’t afford to own a home becomes a bit moot when landlords buy up all the houses and rent them back at unaffordable prices.

        Why is it any different with a house?

        Because you rent a car for, like you said, a vacation. That’s like renting a hotel room. You rent a home to live in. If you could afford a mortgage, you’d buy a home. But landlords basically go “hey, the bank doesn’t think you make enough money to make regular payments, so make those payments to me instead.”

        source

        • -> View More Comments
      • gmtom@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Drug companies produce the actual drugs though. They are creating value by making the drug and the money they make from selling it is their reward for creating value. Landlords do not build the house, so they do not create value.

        And renting a car is different because its not something you need to simply survive and less importantly we don’t have a car shortage. And also you typically don’t rent a house just for a week most people rent houses for years and years until they can afford to buy a house, at which point their landlord has made 10s or maybe even hundreds of thousands off of them, while doing little work and adding no value. Like I’m not arguing against hotels or even renting in general, I’m against landlording for private homes, because its inherently unethical, just like buying all the food in a supermarket and selling it to the same supermarket customers at a markup to make profit for no work.

        source

        • -> View More Comments
    • gazter@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      By this reasoning, farming for anyone other than yourself is also inherently immoral.

      Farmers exploit someone’s basic need for food for massive profit, keeping people trapped in the rental cycle as they are having to pay for food from the farmer to pay their business loan for them and so is much harder to save for their own farm.

      source

      • gmtom@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Farmers grow the fucking food you dunce. Do landlords build the fucking house? No.

        source

        • -> View More Comments