Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
That's how I get to the wealth transfer
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Your wealth transfer is creatd by the imposition of the zoning scheme. Most of the time, you know what restrictions are on the property (or should, or could) when you buy. This justification is the converse of fringey's "too bad--the landlord knew when he bought it was subject to rent control." That's a decent argument re investment-backed expectations: you knew what you were getting into. And that's true of zoning as well. (please don't get me started on takings law and how it's a taking if you bought knowing of the restrictions--see the RI case [the SC case from years ago is another matter, since they imposed the restrictions after the purchase])
But that (fringey's justification) doesn't make rent control a good policy for the reasons Ty and I and others discussed yesterday. At most, it undermines a part of the "unfairness" argument. Zoning, on the other hand, doesn't seem to create similar bad incentives that make it an undesirable policy for reasons beyond the "unfairness" to the owners. Oh, except that it stifles economic diversity. Oh no.
