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Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

npr.org

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Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#71

Post by buro9 »

dwheeler wrote: post #27

The broader problem is lack of housing that can be afforded by the non-wealthy, which is caused in significant part by zoning laws. If more housing was available, the increased supply would better match the demand.

It's also caused by the idea that housing should be an asset to make someone else money, rather than solely a place in which a person/family can live. This leads to the AirBnB culture, the landlord culture, and compounds inequality whilst driving unaffordability.

I'm sure the idea is abhorrent to the USA, but perhaps removing incentives to be a landlord at every step should be considered... mortgages should be punitive on second properties, taxes exorbitant for rented properties, insurance should be unavailable, etc. Housing should experience disintermediation, those in the housing should be the ones owning the housing.

On this site my karma will suffer for saying this out loud, but a persons fundamental right to shelter, food, health... are just not valued in the US above someone else's right to profit from depriving some of shelter, food and health... at every level it's wrong, but yet capitalism seems to demand it.

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#72

Post by cscurmudgeon »

JaimeThompson wrote: post #67
cscurmudgeon wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The root cause is the state or local govt preventing new housing. If there were enough housing, rent fixing wouldn't even make a dent.

Then why are rents going up drastically all over texas, even in small towns where damn near anything can be built?

Sigh, it is always supply and demand. If demand is higher than supply, prices rise.

It is a universal law of economics that people pretend doesn't apply to housing.

In these towns, do you have evidence demand is stable and yet prices rise?

https://scott-wiener.medium.com/yes-supply-demand-apply-to-h...

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#73

Post by s1artibartfast »

readyman wrote: post #60
mrktf wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is broader problem to solve, not taking account any civil infrastructure the houses will be bought by corporate rent company and renters will be charged "fair price" - pretty same as now (not long ago the was article with discussion about rent price fixing https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39575803 )

Yeah, capital accumulation is an inherent quality of capitalism, and accumulated capital then controls the state making so-called regulation impossible. It's only a matter of time.

Only in certain regimes, like when labor competition is high.

The challenge is houses are the product of both capital and labor, so even if real capital returns are negative, you get stuck with high prices for construction.

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#74

Post by TimedToasts »

NPR running sympathetic stories for Big Brother, including the last paragraph framing opposition as supporters of Emmanuel Goldstein. He does not like MiniLove - you would be agreeing with him if you also did not like it just fyi.

NPR could have talked about the current size of the FBI budget, the costs associated with this request, the size of the current deficit - nope, straight to Goldstein.

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#75

Post by Waterluvian »

devonsolomon wrote: post #61

In Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and The Traitor he goes into detail on Aldrich Ames, a double crossing CIA agent who sold out US soviet assets to the Soviets (which led to 10 being executed) in exchange for Soviet cash. I think Macintyre called it one of the largest betrayals in US history. He did this because he was struggling with personal debt and his new wife had expensive taste. Feels like there should be a lesson in…

There is no salary level that can guard against this kind of thing given “expensive tastes” can ruin even those who are perfectly well-off.

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#76

Post by gedy »

JaimeThompson wrote: post #67
cscurmudgeon wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The root cause is the state or local govt preventing new housing. If there were enough housing, rent fixing wouldn't even make a dent.

Then why are rents going up drastically all over texas, even in small towns where damn near anything can be built?

Some/much of this may be just inflation and the devaluing of the dollar.

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#77

Post by sidewndr46 »

randywaterhouse wrote: post #51
sidewndr46 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you're saying people look at gross income to determine if someone can rent a place rather than net ?

This is common practice across the US and the rule-of-thumb 40x generally tries to take most cases into account. i.e., 40x after taxes and other typical debt levels is "risk appropriate" for landlords... Though don't get me started on how this reduces landlord risk to a level where they should not see profits... It does seem odd though when you consider one person with 40x may have a completely different net than ano…

Just off the top off my head I can think of

1. student loans 2. alimony 3. child support 4. back taxes to one or more governments

that can cut the net income of someone in half quite quickly

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#79

Post by bradleyjg »

kilotaras wrote: post #59

Housing theory of everything[0] strikes again. Situation: Housing demand outstrips housing supply. First order effect: housing prices go up Second order effect: your FBI agents are now experiencing financial instability and worries Third order effect: your FBI agents are now more susceptible to bribes [0] https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-housing-theory-of-every...

It’s also worth noting where the money is going. It isn’t evaporating into the air.

Everyone talks about increasing numbers of parents helping their adult children from the angle of a moral failure by the children. Why doesn’t anyone stop to wonder why so many older people have so much money in the first place?

Re: Many FBI agents are struggling to make ends meet. Housing costs are to blame

#80

Post by gurumeditations »

airstrike wrote: post #53
woodruffw wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The $150K number for a family of 4 sounds about right, but $100K for one person in NYC seems pretty far off. I have a lot of friends living in desirable neighborhoods making half that. (The disconnect here is always around expectations: it will invariably be revealed that this includes a 1/2BR with no roommates within walking distance of the person’s workplace, when in reality much of this city has roommates and uses…

I don't think it's unfair to expect adults to be able to afford a 1 bedroom with no roommates

New American dream is a grown adult living with roommates like a child, and dying in a small box connected to a thousand other boxes that you’ll never even own.
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