this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
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Single mom Caitlyn Colbert watched as rent for her two-bedroom apartment doubled, then tripled and then quadrupled over a decade in Denver — from $750 to $3,374 last year.

Every month, like millions of Americans, Colbert juggled her costs. Pay rent or swim team fees for one of her three kids. Rent or school supplies. Rent or groceries. Colbert, a social worker who helps people stay financially afloat, would often arrive home to notices giving her 30 days to pay rent and a late fee or face eviction.

“Every month you just gotta budget and then you still fall short,” she said, adding what became a monthly refrain: “Well, this month at least we have $13 left.”

Millions of Americans, especially people of color, are facing those same, painful decisions as a record number struggle with unaffordable rent increases, a crisis fueled by rising prices from inflation, a shortage of affordable housing and the end of pandemic relief.

The latest data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, released in January, found that a record high 22.4 million renter households — or half of renters nationwide — were spending more than 30% of their income on rent in 2022. The number of affordable units — with rents under $600 — also dropped to 7.2 million that year, 2.1 million fewer than a decade earlier.

In Congress, lawmakers are working on a bill that would expand a federal program that awards tax credits to housing developers who agree to set aside units for low-income tenants. Supporters say that could lead to the construction of 200,000 more affordable homes. Some lawmakers are also calling for more rental assistance, including a significant increase in funding for housing vouchers.

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[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (4 children)

I own a place that I rent out. I am having a hard time figuring out how people are charging $3,000 plus a month. I don’t charge anywhere near that. The only time I raise my rent is when the city increases the cost of their taxes/fees, or if insurance for some reason goes up. Is it actually that expensive for property taxes and other things there or is just greed?

[–] CaffeinatedMoth@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

It's been a few decades since I've rented, and my previous landlord was very transparent with providing information about increased taxes and utilities to explain why rent was increasing. He knew that if he just increased it for the lolz, I'd happily just find another place to rent.

With the market being the way it is, the shortage has provided the leverage crooked people can use against renters.

I do wonder how many landlords are crooked, and how many are being forced to drive up rent due to the rise of excessive tax hikes, insurance premiums, utilities, maintenance and labor costs, etc. I know personally, my home's property taxes have more than tripled in the past 5 years. I'm now priced out of my neighborhood.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I would say it's fair to raise it for increased maintenance costs as well. Most of us aren't mad that we have to pay for housing. We're mad we're so obviously getting taken for a ride by companies operating illegally to control prices.

[–] stratosfear@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 9 months ago

Lol the tool who downvoted you after reading your first sentence but couldn't be bothered to read the rest...

But yes the answer is absolutely greed. And the naivety that "oh look this place over here rented for $500 more I guess I can charge $500 more too..." + "Why would I lose out on $6000/yr?!" + "If I still rent out for what I was renting it out for some losers will just move in." + "This is how an investment works! I get more money because time and not because I actually improved the home to justify $500 more." ... The list goes on ...

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[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml -5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Hidin’ Biden, unironically: “I don’t get it, the economy is doing so good, why aren’t you people happy?!”

[–] stratosfear@lemmy.sdf.org -1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Yes the great republican lie, that the president single handedly controls the economy with a little knob under the desk in the oval office...

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

He doesn't have to pretend though. He'd get a ton of support if he called it like it is. And he realizes that because his in person messaging seems to have changed recently. The news just hasn't caught up yet or doesn't want to cover it.

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

bruh, what?

no, bidey is literally out there boasting about how “good” the economy is doing. And by the traditional measures of economy, he’s right. Stock market hitting all time highs, record low unemployment, record high oil production, etc.

But, the reality on the ground includes a record high population of unhoused people, over 60% of Americans who cannot afford an emergency $400 bill, unchecked greed by rent seeking corporate landlords, and people working 2-3 jobs at once and still unable to make it work, living paycheck to paycheck with no hope of affording basic preventative medical care.

It’s a late stage capitalistic hellscape, and we are constantly gaslighted into believing it’s normal from all sides of the political spectrum. This isn’t a “guhh, republicans bad.” It’s a “dude, America is fucked and we need to change course NOW or the empire will fall.”

[–] stratosfear@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not telling me anything I already know. But your context of what you meant clarifies things. But I'd argue the empire will fall due to DT being elected sooner than it will fall because of our fucked up economy. So "so what" if politicians are politicianing. We just need to get past 2024 and then we can try to fix the real problems.

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago

No question about that, the orange tyrant would be the end of it all. Considering how things are already going with multiple war fronts abroad, I shudder to think about how literally that may play out. Hope we can stop him from taking over.

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