Arguing that Bloomberg’s affordable housing plan will in effect increase housing costs for middle-income New Yorkers, Nicole Gelinas, of the Manhattan Institute, outlines the theory that regulating prices acuses supply to become restricted. The result? Housing becomes more valuable and prices rise for living space still on the free market. She also makes the generalized argument that rent stabilization leads to the deteriorization of housing conditions by depriving landlords of revenue needed for upkeep, forcing them to cut corners. Granted, some single mothers may not be able to afford their apartments without government regulations, she says, but that’s “a problem of the dysfunctional underclass.”
Bloomberg’s Housing Horror [NY Post]