Crazy Idea to Spur the Economy
I thought of something to help the country. An idea so crazy, that it just has to work. I’m trying to find some fault in this proposal but cannot.
What if people didn’t own property? Before you write this idea off, just continue reading.
America is fueled by excess. We like nice cars, LCD televisions, iPods, all the good stuff that makes the rest of the world hate us. Most people in the US can afford this stuff, BUT, the problem is the cost of housing.
For those of you like me, you live near a big city because that is where the jobs are. And for most of us, that means renting an apartment because the cost of a home makes ownership out of our reach.
What if you didn’t have to rent? How much more disposable income would you have? How much more would you spend on goods and services? For me, that would $12k a year that I could spend on clothing, food, merchandise, etc. If we didn’t have to pay rent, consumer spending would be at record levels. Local governments would have a huge influx of tax dollars to fund projects. The federal government could then stop meddling in the free-market.
What about my home, you might be asking. In my plan, single family homes would not be affected. Single family homes represent the ultimate luxury. Not everyone deserves a single family home; only the most responsible people should have the ability to buy one. My plan would affect for all legal 2+ family properties. All 2+ family homes would become local government property.
Those who cannot afford their own single family home could live for free in an state owned apartment. There, the tenant would be responsible for the upkeep of the apartment. The tenant would have to call and pay for a contractor or a plumber for any needed repairs. Issues that affect the entire building, say a broken water heater, would require that they split the costs for repairs.
It sounds crazy, but this would allow people to spend more money. More money spent means more jobs created, more taxes collected; A booming economy.
This proposal, would in-fact hurt some people. Those people are landlords. While I understand you worked hard to buy your land and building, it just does not make sense that you are able to collect an income off this property. Buying land should be for personal use. Personaly use would be using the land as your residence, or if you operate some sort of business. It should not be used to house people and collect rents.