The push for so-called “rent control,” announced late last week, is being introduced in light of sky-rocketing rent costs that have hurt millions of families during Biden’s term.
The plan calls for Congress to pass legislation that requires commercial landlords to cap rent increases at 5% annually or risk losing federal tax breaks.
"Just when you thought Biden's economic policies couldn't get any more destructive, he announces plans for nationwide rent control," Elaine Parker, president of Job Creators Network Foundation, said in a statement.
"You don't need to be an economist to understand that rent control exacerbates the problem it's trying to solve,” she further said, “by disincentivizing building and reducing housing supply and quality."
The rent-control plan has predictably been embraced by the Far Left. In a post on X, formerly, Twitter, the socialist group Occupy Democrats called it a “historical proposal” that is a “kitchen table policy that Democrats excel at.”
Free-market critics of the plan also point out government excels at a camel-under-the-tent approach, in this case promising for now to only target corporations, such as apartment complexes, with 50-plus rental units.
The X post by Occupy Democrats acknowledges that rule affects “roughly half” of all rental properties in the U.S.
There is no argument families have been struggling with rising rent along with gas and groceries. A CNN story, published in January, said average monthly rent had jumped 22% in 2022, then increased more slightly in 2023. The story blamed inflation, which is caused by the federal government when it prints money.
In a related Fox News story, Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute said cities with prices controls in California, where he lives, made housing worse after passing price control regulations.
“The Biden administration plan is a misguided idea that will only make matters worse,” he predicted.
