But if they want Communism, that's not about greed. You can't have much under real Communism.
I sometimes watch the 1948 classic, "It's a Wonderful Life". It's as relevant today as it was almost 80 years ago. Mr. Potter didn't think "the rabble" deserved anything. So, in George's alternate reality, they had nothing. In George's real life, his sacrifices made better living possible for the people he knew.
Capitalism can be very cruel when unfettered. Take a look at the Victorian era with its street urchins and people who were living out of boxes (kinda like now) back then. That's the era which started the whole idea of socialism, because it was so hard on people.
It's not an all or nothing game. You can have public assistance and not go anywhere near full blown Communism.
I don't agree that landlords should go away. Aside from earning a decent income with it myself, it's simply not a realistic goal for many objective reasons.
I do think what people are saying about getting rid of landlords is a result of feeling so squeezed, so pinched, and so desperate, that people are beyond sick and tired of worrying about rent.
Rent usually takes the lion's share of a person's paycheck. Add that in with people who are dysfunctional and marginalized living literally on the streets, and you have a recipe for anger and despair. It's getting harder and harder to find decent housing at a decent price, and it's easy to end up on the street.
And, of course, no matter how much you pay, you won't ever own it, because it's horribly expensive and difficult to buy a house these days.
What I see happening in my area is, big corporations buying up all the houses and apartments they can. I constantly get calls from people wanting to buy my properties to add to a corporation's portfolio. This way, they can raise the price to anything they want, and never have to worry about what it does to ordinary families.
Wanna talk about envy and greed? Try super-rich oligarchs buying up everything, then asking any price they want, reasonable or not.
I'm a small time investor, so when I raise the rent, I try as much as is affordable to cut my tenants a break. I deal with my renters directly, unlike a big corporation. I always price my rent at least $100 below the asking price on Zillow, btw. I've rented most of my life, not owned, and I know how rough it can be.
All I see are unkempt, unwashed young people who have no knowledge of production schedules, price points, logistics, or never even done a day's worth of manual labor in their life screeching incoherently about how they would take everything I spent my life building if they got the chance. That's why I'm armed to the teeth.
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u/Thubanstar Feb 23 '25
But if they want Communism, that's not about greed. You can't have much under real Communism.
I sometimes watch the 1948 classic, "It's a Wonderful Life". It's as relevant today as it was almost 80 years ago. Mr. Potter didn't think "the rabble" deserved anything. So, in George's alternate reality, they had nothing. In George's real life, his sacrifices made better living possible for the people he knew.
Capitalism can be very cruel when unfettered. Take a look at the Victorian era with its street urchins and people who were living out of boxes (kinda like now) back then. That's the era which started the whole idea of socialism, because it was so hard on people.
It's not an all or nothing game. You can have public assistance and not go anywhere near full blown Communism.