An Eviction Crisis Is Coming — We Need to Treat Housing as a Right

[Jeanne_S]

Does she have a stroller for her dog?

 

[ThinkingSapien]

It’s usually the boys isn’t it?

Why do boys like to torture animals?

Is it common behavior for boys?

I don’t think it is common, but if it being done it is more likely a boy.i don’t know why.

When I had cats, I did not let them out within a weeks time of Halloween. One of my cats managed to get out the day before. I never saw it again.

 

[RhodesianSon]

No but she does carry it in a baby carrier at times. Has clothes for it, it eats better than a lot of people that live around me, and she of course refuses to visit our home now because I won’t let her dog in my house because it’s terribly ill mannered and poorly trained, and she thinks it’s just terrible I’d expect her dog to sit on the porch with mine.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

One thing I think should be done, is anyone’s primary residence should be complete free of being taxable. That would go a long way to making home ownership more affordable. Second homes and so forth should be the only things subject to a property tax.

If that is done, it should be only on the first $200,000 of property value. I don’t think we need to make housing more affordable for those who buy a million dollar mansion.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

If that is done, it should be only on the first $200,000 of property value.

I might suggest carrying that by market, as property values can swing significantly. I’ve got a couple of friends that got Atlanta homes for 150k and 200k a fee years back that are now valued at nearly half a million. These homes are relatively small.

 

[PaulinVA]

If that is done, it should be only on the first $200,000 of property value. I don’t think we need to make housing more affordable for those who buy a million dollar mansion.

The money will come from somewhere unless the government size or benefits are cut.

Slow a revenue source in one place and it’ll have to some from somewhere else, like sales tax, income tax, resort tax, etc.

 

[Jeanne_S]

OMG!Pets have dfinetly been humanized in a lot of ways…

 

[RhodesianSon]

If we’re all to be equal under the law and equal citizens it needs to apply to everyone’s first home. Unless you want to grant additional privileges to those who pay more than those who don’t.

 

[old_man_chris]

Landlords have bills as well. It’s another myopic argument from a magazine that has been indoctrinating kids with progressive nonsense for far too long.

 

[RhodesianSon]

Yes, it would impact government revenues. But home ownership is directly correlated to financial stability. So anything that makes home ownership more affordable is a good thing for lower income people, particularly if it can then be passed on to the next generation tax free as well.

 

[PaulinVA]

Yes, it would impact government revenues. But home ownership is directly correlated to financial stability. So anything that makes home ownership more affordable is a good thing for lower income people, particularly if it can then be passed on to the next generation tax free as well.

Right, but property taxes are paid at the county level, aren’t they? What other county-level taxing authority is there?

I suppose you could severely curtail the property tax and have it be made up by state income taxes, but it would have to be progressive to ensure it didn’t hurt lower income people. Then, the state would control school funding. Could be good, could be bad.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

Right, but property taxes are paid at the county level, aren’t they? What other county-level taxing authority is there?

I suppose you could severely curtail the property tax and have it be made up by state income taxes, but it would have to be progressive to ensure it didn’t hurt lower income people. Then, the state would control school funding. Could be good, could be bad.

There are sales taxes. But those can be regressive with respect to impact on the poor and middle class vs the rich.

Also states differ among themselves about how the money gets allocated between income, property, sales and business taxes.

Ultimately, there is really no easy answer. To begin with, many states and local government entities have issues with underfunded pensions. Chicago and Illinois are the poster children for that problem, having already raised property and income taxes well before this year to make up the shortfalls. Along those lines, I’ve been fairly cynical of teachers’ unions and similar entities calling for defunding police departments and I can see the dog eat dog environment behind the scenes as each public union fights the other public unions to preserve what they have in the midst of the coming spending cutbacks.

 

[RhodesianSon]

It’s something that would definitely take some time and ingenuity to figure out. But let’s be realistic it’s probably never going to happen so not really worth working out all the details here.

 

[PaulinVA]

There are sales taxes. But those can be regressive with respect to impact on the poor and middle class vs the rich.

Sales taxes are regressive. If you replace property tax with sales taxes, you are shifting the education burden to lower income people, negating any effect the drop in property tax might have on lower-income home ownership.

So, you’re right. No easy answer.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

One more: state income tax rates in some states are extremely progressive. We were treated a few days ago to the spectacle of Cuomo begging the rich New Yorkers to return to NYC. As we find out in the small print that the top 1% contributes about 45% of NY’s state income tax revenue. Likely a similar portion for the NYC income tax (yes, NYC has its own local income tax on top of the state’s income tax). But of course that will never be enough for the Sanders wing.

The tricky thing about taxing the rich is this: capital eventually flows to where it’s treated best. Squeeze the rich too hard and they’ll take their ball somewhere else. Let the squeeze migrate down into the middle class as is happening in Illinois and you’ll really see the outward migration.

 

[jeannetherese]

Part of the push to cut population is training grown ups to view animals as people substitutes/ people equivalents.

 

[JanR]

RhodesianSon:

People have really gotten crazy with animals and treat them too much like people. I have two dogs I’m very fond of but this whole idea that pets have to be indoors is odd to me.

There might be climates where they need to be indoors sometimes. And there might be breeds that are vulnerable. But basically, cats and dogs are better equipped to live outdoors than indoors, in my opinion. Might need some kind of shelter for them outdoors in places where it gets well below zero, and any kind of overhang will suffice for rain.

Outdoor shelter for my cats:
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[JonNC]

One thing I think should be done, is anyone’s primary residence should be complete free of being taxable. That would go a long way to making home ownership more affordable. Second homes and so forth should be the only things subject to a property tax.

Property tax on homes should be replaced with a sales tax, paid off as the principal is paid down. Property tax is an odious thing, akin to protection payments.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Neat looking!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Property tax on homes should be replaced with a sales tax, paid off as the principal is paid down. Property tax is an odious thing, akin to protection payments.

I rarely disagree with you, but I will this time. Real property taxes are typically low, or at least they are around here. I do think they are higher elsewhere, but it’s a tax you can influence locally because it’s imposed by the county.