• RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Why do you think any business does what it does? That’s an absurd assertion that anyone would do that for nothing. We take good care of our tenants because we like having good people there, and that’s worth a lot. We play the long game. Your /s is useless after that post.

    • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      Why do you think any business does what it does?

      Yeah, profit is legitimately a problem, this guy Adam Smith wrote about it in a book and then Marx wrote a whole series of tomes doing a more comprehensive analysis about how it is unsustainable and to the detriment of humanity.

        • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          Yeah, youre a member of the rentier class, not the capitalist class.

          The critique is actually different for rentierism vs capitalism, even most capitalist economicists hate rentierism. You’re collectively a parasitic class even to the capitalists because you increase their operating costs indirectly for no benefit. Earnestly no offense, as class analysis is about understanding structures, not moralizing.

          You still benefit from extractivist class dynamics. Unless you’re going to be in the red even after selling the properties you own, even if you’re charging so low that you lose money in the short term. But I’m guessing that on aggregate over time you’re gaining money in the short term.

            • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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              11 months ago

              It is more than my opinion, it is literally the academic concensus on the subject, including pro-capitalist economic theorists in the consensus. You’d literally have to go back to the divine right of kings being an intellectual position taken seriously to find a consensus in support of rentierism.

              Now, of course, feel free to be an anti-intellectual about it. Your opinion as someone who hasn’t read a lot of political economic theory is just as valid as the mainstream academic concensus among economicists and political economicists.

              • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                You know nothing about me or my reading choices or knowledge. I could cite tons of capitalist garbage in favor of renterism, but that would be just as meaningless as your tripe. Point is renting is a business, like any other. The business owner can fleece customers or treat them like humans. We choose to be the latter, we choose to treat our renters fairly and give them an excellent service, and if that’s too difficult for you to separate from your prejudice for that facet of capitalism I see no reason to waste further conversation on the subject.

                • Hacksaw@lemmy.ca
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                  11 months ago

                  Other businesses “we can provide you with a good or a service in exchange for money”

                  Landlords “I own your house so you owe me half your income”

                  Yeah, no difference at all /s

                • OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml
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                  11 months ago

                  could cite tons of capitalist garbage in favor of renterism

                  Okay. Do it then.

                  Point is renting is a business, like any other.

                  It is literally distinct enough that we define the rentier class separately from the capitalist class

                  The business owner can fleece customers or treat them like humans. We choose to be the latter, we choose to treat our renters fairly and give them an excellent service, and if that’s too difficult for you to separate from your prejudice for that facet of capitalism I see no reason to waste further conversation on the subject.

                  Can you please seperate systemic critique from moralizing? The point isn’t to call you a bad person, in the same way ecology isn’t about calling mosquitos evil. You’re frankly missing the point by being defensive and arguing “okay but some mosquitos don’t carry malaria”

                  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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                    11 months ago

                    No. No, I don’t think so. I’m not going to sit here, waste my time making a case, and be your whipping boy for every piece of shit landlord or landowning conglomerate that treats tenants like numbers to be squeezed for profit. You’re not here in good faith, your mind is made up, so there’s no point. This isn’t systemic critique, this is about me stepping in and trying to point out we’re not all bastards and we treat people well, but that doesn’t matter here. You’ve made a completely manufactured position that has no real world basis that you’re trying to make me defend, I’m sure some form of rent has existed since before the pyramids so there’s no case for me to make. Rent is a default position for those that don’t own, unless we’re going to get into the weeds over some sort of pointless discussion of property ownership being horrible in general (which I tend to agree with). I shouldn’t have to explain that. It’s business. And for the record, you’re inventing morality that renting is some kind of moral failing when, as I mentioned, some form of renting has been around since recorded history. It’s business. Hope you have decent landlords, I’m done here.

        • saigot@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Groceries?

          Food stamps. It definitely would be nice to have a government owned food bank. This is a bit of a weird one because the line between luxury food and necessity food is blurry and complex. It certainly is a system that is also in need of reform

          Electricity?

          About half owned by the government why I live, the other half is highly regulated, companies dont really get a choice of what to charge. It’s also illegal where i am to cut off electricity during winter months where it really is 100% a need. If they don’t really get to choose who there customers are or how much they charge, aren’t the real customer the government? I think this would be a pretty good model for land ownership.

          Fuel?

          Not really a basic need, I haven’t used any in a couple years. The car cartels are certainly a huge threat to people’s basic freedoms.

            • saigot@lemmy.ca
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              11 months ago

              IIRC natural gas where I am is controlled by the same government org electricity is, so similar restriction apply.

              I get charged a solid 30bucks a month to have it as a backup to my heatpump which is very annoying.

        • force@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Fuel is NOT a basic human need, especially in countries where gas stoves are extremely uncommon or banned from being used in new houses (which includes most of Europe). In fact, in most of the US electric stoves are also by far the most common type (with the exception of California, NY, Illinois, and New Jersey).

          Fossil fuels as a “need” is manufactured, it’s completely artificial, it shouldn’t even be legal to install stoves or heating that require gas. The US and Canada also shouldn’t have shitty car-dependent infrastructure. The only reason we have these problems is because of propoganda from fossil fuel corporations promoting garbage like “gas stoves cook better”… whatever that’s supposed to mean… or lobbying to keep cars as the only viable form of transport for the past hundred years.

          I agree with the rest of your points though.

        • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Yes really.

          I absolutely agree with you about grocery, energy, and fuel companies being evil. But most companies aren’t grocery, energy, or fuel companies.

          That said, I still hate capitalism. But for the purposes of this discussion, landlords are listed among the worst because they’re part of the select few who withhold basic human necessities over profit.

        • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Don’t get me wrong, capitalism is still evil. On the employment end they’re still extorting people because below a certain level, in the current society, money becomes a basic human necessity.

          But for the purposes of this discussion, from a consumer perspective, most businesses in the world don’t trade in human necessities. Landlords, grocery stores, hospitals, energy companies, and a few more are the select few who do.