‘The top ten donors to [funding the opposition to rent contro] are corporations and private equity firms that have been gobbling up properties across California since the 2007 Housing crisis, routinely outbidding families and individuals. They transform or split their properties into rental units, continually jacking up the rent to maximize profits.’
Californians have an opportunity in Tuesday’s election to pass a ballot measure that will address the high cost of housing, which is one of the top grievances among the state’s voters. Proposition 33 will allow cities and counties to implement rent control ordinances in order to contain the increasing cost of rental units.
Just as importantly, passage of Prop 33 will send a signal that people don’t have to passively accept unjust housing costs. Together, we can take back control of this issue, which impacts everyone’s life, from the corporate landlords and private equity firms that currently overdetermine housing policy through their influence over our money-driven political system.
If you think this is an overstatement, check out who is funding opposition to Proposition 33.
The top ten donors are all corporations and private equity firms that have been gobbling up properties across California since the 2007 Housing crisis, routinely outbidding families and individuals. They transform or split their properties into rental units, continually jacking up the rent to maximize profits. Following this playbook, these groups have pilfered billions of dollars from hard working Californians. Now, they’ve skimmed off $100-to-$200 million to fund the NoOnProp33 campaign. This is why a non-stop barrage of Ads have been flooding the minds of Californians with misinformation and outright lies about Prop 33 for the past few months.
These ads fear-monger shamelessly, making elaborate claims about the damage that will be wrought if Prop 33 passes. In reality, Prop 33 will do one thing, and one thing only – revoke legislation that was passed and signed into law in 1995. The Costa-Hawkins Bill restricts the capacity of cities, towns, and counties in California to implement effective rent control laws. That’s it. Prop 33 will eliminate these barriers, allowing local governments to decide about the pros and cons of rent control for their communities.
So, let’s be clear, the groups funding opposition to Prop 33 are defending a housing law currently on the books. They are supporting the status quo at a time when it’s universally understood that California’s housing market is an unmitigated disaster for the majority of the state’s population. The home ownership rate is among the lowest in the country, and the cost of homes and rental units are both astronomically high. Working- and middle-class people can’t afford to live near their jobs and are fleeing the state, while an already-horrible homeless crisis becomes ever worse – and very little affordable housing is being built.
California has been the envy of the world for most of the last century, now its reputation lies in tatters – and its failed housing policies are a big part of the problem.
Fortunately, a California renewal, one that will inspire the rest of the country, can begin by passing Prop 33. Rent control will be reestablished as a sound strategy that communities can adopt to protect their residents. With home ownership increasingly out of reach for most households, more Americans are renting than ever. Their economic well-being is paramount.
With rent control, households will be able to budget effectively. Fewer people will be evicted, which means fewer will be forced into homelessness. As households will be spending a lower percentage of their income on rent, they can live more comfortably and build a better life for themselves, relieving stress. Or, they could save money towards buying a home, something that’s become impossible for young Americans in our era of ever-skyrocketing rents.
Rent control also does wonders for community cohesion. Households will no longer fear eviction when there’s local economic growth. This encourages community involvement and support for building strong local and state institutions. These used to be a hallmark of California society. They can be so again.
Another benefit of passing Prop 33, just as important as the others, is that it will represent a high-profile rejection of the idea that governments should not interfere in the market. Enshrined during the Reagan era, this remains an orthodoxy for most of the political establishment – and is a cornerstone of the NoOnProp33 campaign – but clearly needs to be challenged as it applies to housing in California and across the country.
Look, no one argues for private markets to build and fix our roads and bridges, or fund the police, fire departments, and K-12 education – and even Americans have recognized since the 1960s that markets are not interested in providing healthcare to the poor and elderly. Certainly, we have enough evidence now to recognize that government will have to intervene to house the poor and make sure all non-wealthy Americans have affordable housing. Markets will not solve this problem.
Passage of Prop 33 will show the way forward on this front. Citizens must take action and direct their government to intervene in the housing market when necessary, just like the people of California are doing with Prop 33. Another benefit of this approach is that success will renew the population’s faith in democracy, as a means to counter the wealthy and powerful and reclaim popular sovereignty.
Prop 33 is a case in point: There’s more than enough evidence to establish that the dominant players in the contemporary housing market, left to their own devices, have no druthers about increasing the homeless population or forcing working people into lives of miserable precarity just to keep a roof over their heads. They sure-as-hell won’t build affordable housing. Rather, they’ll buy politicians who will protect their profits, maintain the status quo, and mouth platitudes about how interference in the market will make matters worse – and they’ll spend unprecedented millions in a campaign against a ballot measure so they can make billions in return. This is why they must be defeated; and we the people must win!
Vote yes on Prop 33.
Alan Minsky is the Executive Director of Progressive Democrats for America (PDA).
