patrick.net

Peter P Says:
>I have yet to see a “well designed” rent control system
> that did not create severe market distortions that were
> UN-beneficial to the majority of the general public, as
> well as lots of bad incentives (to game the system).

Because any price control system will create severe market distortions.

This is just more of the same neo-liberal market dogma and fundamentalism. It's like a neural network which always oscillates to the same answer no matter what the inputs.

This is completely unsubstantiated by argument. You've looked at *one* system and said therefore that all systems can't work. (And maybe the system *does* work for many, just not in your view.) This is just a nonsense. Talking about scientific reasoning, because one rocket misfires means in your logic that no rocket will ever get off the ground and there will never be a space shuttle. People invoke 'scientific reasoning' when it's convenient and then proceed to prove they don't have any, and they have a 'one size fits all' answer. Where does this neo-classical market brainwashing come from, by the way?

In other words, it usually creates big, counter-productive moral hazards.

The only 'moral hazards' I see are exploitation of workers by landlords, unhelathy economic bubbles which are harmful to both the micro- and macro-economies, and incredible unfairness and disenfranchisement of a sector of the population for the enrichment of others. That's my definition of a 'moral hazard'. The original defn of moral hazard was from insurance companies talking about the question of whether it becomes too tempting for a businessman to torch their business and claim the insurance. It now means anything which jeopardises so-called 'free markets' apparently, as redefined on this blog.

The whole cycle of creating 'haves and have-nots' also increases crime and anomie, which I see as 'counter-productive' also.

just a test post