This isn’t about fear. This is about freedom. Here is what Thomas Jefferson had to say about things like rent control and other government meddling:

“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government.”

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”

“It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own.”

We have to remember that loss of rights and the emergence of tyranny never happens overnight. It always happens little by little. We have to fight for our freedoms, or surely we’ll loose them, little by little.

That is what history has shown us to be true.

Clair

Also, please people need to get a grip with all the socialism fear mongering. This is not federal or state ordinance. It’s a local ordinance. Rent control provisions have been long around. They ebb and flow under both republican and democratic presidential leadership.

I’m confused here.

Obviously, rent controls are generally socialist measures in an otherwise capitalist economy. Housing is a generally elastic market that responds to standard supply and demand.

So it’s clear that the “need” for rent controls is likely manufactured. The only appropriate “capitalist” lever here would be low-income housing provisions.

What I don’t understand is your brief mention of healthcare.

Healthcare is a generally inelastic market that responds poorly to things like “market demands”. Kids don’t magically start breaking less legs just because the price of fixing a leg has gone up.

Generally, when a service needs to be provided in some fundamental, shared way, we a society “socialize” that need. Common things like garbage pick-up and sewers and schools have all been “socialized” in an attempt to serve the needs of the greater good. It’s really not cost efficient to have two private companies maintain completely separate sewer systems and run competitive businesses around the management of waste water.

The “socialization” of medicine is based on a similar thought process as making a public school system. We want to provide everyone with a system they can use, we want to provide a baseline for service and care. The “single-payer” system used in places like Canada and Europe delivers a similar life expectancy and quality of life as the US system, but at significantly reduced overall costs.

If a “socialized” system delivers the same quality of care and costs less, doesn’t that satisfy the “capitalist” desire to do “more with less”?

How does converting healthcare into a more public service equate with “socialism”?

I lived in two rentals in SF and my first landlord was a lovely woman who Ellis Act-ed a long time tenant. She and her scary dog, Toby, moved in and scared the bejesus out of everyone. Toby was an unfriendly German Shepherd and my landlady could barely control him because he outweighed her. She was a ruthless landlord though. She asked my roommate if we’d pay an extra $50 a month for 2 ppl in the unit RIGHT IN FRONT OF ANOTHER PROSPECTIVE tenant. Then turned and said ‘sorry’ to the other guy after we said yes. (I was not there when this happened.)

The other landlord pretty much wouldn’t let me stay in my apartment after my 2 roommates moved out even though I was on the lease. She claimed she was going to sell the unit as the reason for making me leave, but she promptly tripled the rent and leased it to three dingbats, er friends of my friend, which is how I found out about it. I thought about suing her for the blatant lie as were my rights.

However, I also disagree with this legislation because it’s crazy stuff.

First, I do not think any landlord would raise the rent by 33% for no reason. but, our government CAN do this instead. In my case (as well as in our state), my rental property tax went up almost 100% this year (an angered landload paid his property tax with PENNIES loaded in a shopping cart!), but I have not really raised my rents yet. If our government moves first, we have no choice but to follow.

Second, every city has some ordinance that limits unrelated people to live in a single-family house. a tenant can not decide how many roommates he can have…

CA is embarrassing. To be 26B, or almost 25% over-budget and not be able to agree that trimming back programs, many of which are redundant to federal programs, is insane. To add to it this sort of ridiculous legislation – SF will get what it deserves – declining property values and net exodus. To ignore property rights is just wrong.

Rent control goes too far to begin with. It’s a violation of private property rights. It inhibits investment, promotes disrepair of housing, and furthers the socialistic ideas of government do-gooders which only encourages more of the same.

The market is self-correcting and works just fine if government would kindly step aside and stop governing.

Interference in the marketplace diminishes competition, and it’s competition that raises quality, lowers prices, and increases options for the consumer. Interference in the marketplace also discourages investors, the very foundation and lifeblood of our economy.

Those in government must keep in mind that all the wealth they consume is created by others – not the government – so they’re slowly eating the cow that they milk.

Clair

Our Government is way out of control both at the state and federal level.

Obama is bankrupting this country hook line and sinker. If cap and trade passes, it will be the largets TAX increase imposed on Americans in our country’s history.

Spain tried it, and failed as a result their unemployment rate is over 18%.

Obama wants to spread the wealth, and subsidize everything and give everyone below a certain income a handout. This will ONLY serve to keep people of a certain economic class down.

Why learn to fish when the government gives you your fish for free?

people are so blind to it. Obama is destroying this country.

This is one prime example of why California is in such a mess, why I would NEVER live there, and why people and businesses are fleeing or will eventually flee the state.

Landlords are likely to be the ones paying TAXES in this scenario (not the lower income and immigrant population they are renting to), and if they are forced to have continual losses due to this kind of regulation, all that does is decrease the tax base. While keeping housed the lower income folks who are already receiving all kinds of tax credits and other subsidies.