The house was not built by its owner. It was erected, decorated, and furnished by innumerable workers–in the timber yard, the brick field, and the workshop, toiling for dear life at a minimum wage.
The money spent by the owner was not the product of his own toil. It was amassed, like all other riches, by paying the workers two-thirds or only a half of what was their due.
Moreover–and it is here that the enormity of the whole proceeding becomes most glaring–the house owes its actual value to the profit which the owner can make out of it. Now, this profit results from the fact that his house is built in a town possessing bridges, quays, and fine public buildings, and affording to its inhabitants a thousand comforts and conveniences unknown in villages; a town well paved, lighted with gas, in regular communication with other towns, and itself a centre of industry, commerce, science, and art; a town which the work of twenty or thirty generations has gone to render habitable, healthy, and beautiful.
A house in certain parts of Paris may be valued at thousands of pounds sterling, not because thousands of pounds’ worth of labour have been expended on that particular house, but because it is in Paris; because for centuries workmen, artists, thinkers, and men of learning and letters have contributed to make Paris what it is to-day–a centre of industry, commerce, politics, art, and science; because Paris has a past; because, thanks to literature, the names of its streets are household words in foreign countries as well as at home; because it is the fruit of eighteen centuries of toil, the work of fifty generations of the whole French nation.
Who, then, can appropriate to himself the tiniest plot of ground, or the meanest building, without committing a flagrant injustice? Who, then, has the right to sell to any bidder the smallest portion of the common heritage?
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/conquest/ch6.html
Worse imo are brokers. Esp. here in parts of the US, where a landlord hires a broker to show their apartment and do nothing else, then collect 15% of your yearly rent for no fucking reason
“[Landlords] are the only one of the three orders whose revenue costs them neither labour nor care, but comes to them, as it were, of its own accord, and independent of any plan or project of their own. That indolence, which is the natural effect of the ease and security of their situation, renders them too often, not only ignorant, but incapable of that application of mind.” - Adam Smith
Your housing budget shouldn’t be 2/3 of your income.
Landlords pay property taxes that comes out of the rent, and the bank fees and other costs. The building is also maintained, which costs 3% /yr of the value of the building.
If you owned your own building, it would be on you to pay the taxes and fees, maintain the building and appliances, and service the bank loan.
I’m not saying that landlords are not doing it for profit, but silly arguments borne from ignorance of economics do not help the discussion. Same with the whole “late stage capitalism” circlejerking from people that propose no viable alternatives.
Houses wouldnt be so expensive if it werent for landlords
Your housing budget shouldn’t be 2/3 of your income.
Many people have no choice in the matter.
I find that most people that say that refuse to address it. And I’m not being callous. Yes, there are many people that struggle to find a job and already live as small as possible renting a room in a cheap part of town. But that’s not who I’m talking about, and it’s also usually not the person making a song and dance about their income going to landlords or “the man.”
Most people in America live in a house or apartment larger than they need, saddled with credit card debt they chose, many drive a car they can’t afford, and some then complain about how hard it is to maintain their current living standards they set for themselves.
People outside of the US are puzzled by what Americans do, from politics to consumerism and living arrangements.
Most Americans complaining about the cost of living and housing could lower and share their expenses if they were serious about it. But blaming others is easier when we know the system is not perfect. There’s always someone else we can accuse of our problems and choices.
The truth is that the US is one of the richest countries in the history of the world, Americans as a whole are among the wealthiest and luckiest people in history, and living here is easier than almost anywhere else in the world. Even at the bottom incomes, the people complaining about earning $15/hr in the US should learn about India, China, Brazil, Russia, and find out what bottom level salaries pay there. But the people here on about “late stage capitalism” do not want to have that conversation.
“Comparison is the thief of joy” - People that want to complain are always comparing themselves against those that are doing better. But if you live in the US, you were born in the lucky 10%. If you have normal American problems and are struggling with expenses, take a moment to stop comparing yourself against the 9% above you, and take a look at how the other 90% live. We can all pick up a few cost-saving/sharing habits from them.
Also, this is not to say we don’t have policy problems. Vote for leaders that care about the middle class and have policies to make life better for people not corporations.
Most people in America live in a house or apartment larger than they need
The only one in a position to determine that are the people that live in those apartments. Additionally, I doubt that most people choose apartment size as a deciding factor. With the cost of rent, price of the apartment is the much bigger factor.
saddled with credit card debt they chose
Most people didn’t choose credit card debt. They were forced into it because they couldn’t afford basic needs.
Most Americans complaining about the cost of living and housing could lower and share their expenses if they were serious about it
That’s total bullshit. Over 60% of Americans can’t afford the cheapest house in the cheapest state to live in. The living wage in this country is at the very least $25/hr and the minimum wage hasn’t increased in over a decade, but we’ll discuss wages much more later.
living here is easier than almost anywhere else in the world
Tell that to homeless people. Did you forget about them, or do they not count?
Even at the bottom incomes, the people complaining about earning $15/hr in the US should learn
Newsflash, suffering elsewhere doesn’t minimize suffering for you. Now let’s talk wages. Everywhere, there’s a cost associated with basic living called a survival wage, and a cost to live a dignified life that can accommodate hardship and enjoyment in equal measure known as a living wage.
The living wage for a given area has a lot of factors, but it’s relatively easy to calculate. Where I live, the living wage is $27/hr. I also happen to live in a state with a minimum wage larger than federal and tied to inflation, putting it at $11.13/hr. That’s an annual difference of $33k dollars between a living wage and the state minimum. I can’t tell you how I managed to conjure $3k to assist a single coworker once, let alone $30k on top of it every year for the foreseeable future.
Don’t forget that there are millions of people working on the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. In Memphis TN, the living wage is $20/hr and the minimum wage is federal. There are people working for minimum wage that can’t even afford to rent a broom closet. This all also assumes everyone has a job, so it totally excludes anyone who can’t work or can’t find a job. These people exist too and still deserve a dignified life, even without an income.
