Well the big thing is that most people can't just move if they want to. They have their jobs, and (especially if they're older) it might be really hard for them to get an equivalent job elsewhere. So moving will already cost them money.
The second part of this is that it costs a lot of money for these people to move/be without income. So for some, they might just be too poor to move, and suffer with diminishing disposable income as the price of everything else around them rises.
I think the core of the argument is that it's not like these rich people came into a barren land and built giant apartments. There are many people in NYC that simply live there, and why let these billionaires come in and make everything more expensive?
I think that's the crux of the counter-argument. I think that a combination of proper tax brackets, loose zoning regulation allowing for high-density housing + commercial mixes, and primary-residence rules can solve the problem.
I think the central moral argument is that having giant empty houses in the middle of a city with a community trying to do otherwise isn't exactly useful for society as a whole (see Detroit) , so we should disincentive it as much as possible.
>I think the central moral argument is that having giant empty houses in the middle of a city
Raise property taxes if you don't want property to be left unoccupied.
I sympathize with people who are already living there but it just doesn't make any economic sense to give tax breaks to benefit a small population that's already living there. There is no benefit to the population at large to prevent an incumbent population from getting priced out.
The goal should be to increase the supply of cheaper housing and make it abundant. I doubt it is possible in Manhattan today. Why not do it somewhere close by where they are not likely to be priced out? Instead, we build things like the east rover ferry which is clearly intended to raise the rent in apartment complexes midtown and first avenue...
I think the trick is to raise property taxes on un-occupied/secondary housing, because if not you're just raising taxes for everyone.
I doubt the people already living there is small. Most people don't really move out of cities they grew up or went to college in. So we're talking about a substantial chunk of the population. There are cultural arguments for protecting the incumbent population.
Like I said, that's the counterargument as has been presented to me. It's not black and white (obviously). I think the proper solution is stronger transportation and making other areas more livable. But there's a strong argument for making real estate not become just an investment vehicle (literally rent seeking!), and make it more about actually housing people.
Why don't billionaires build palaces in Iowa? Regular income folks build amazing cities, and then rich folks move in and crush the cities and price everyone else out, and often don't even live there, just put up empty properties that drain local commerce.
The second part of this is that it costs a lot of money for these people to move/be without income. So for some, they might just be too poor to move, and suffer with diminishing disposable income as the price of everything else around them rises.
I think the core of the argument is that it's not like these rich people came into a barren land and built giant apartments. There are many people in NYC that simply live there, and why let these billionaires come in and make everything more expensive?
I think that's the crux of the counter-argument. I think that a combination of proper tax brackets, loose zoning regulation allowing for high-density housing + commercial mixes, and primary-residence rules can solve the problem.
I think the central moral argument is that having giant empty houses in the middle of a city with a community trying to do otherwise isn't exactly useful for society as a whole (see Detroit) , so we should disincentive it as much as possible.