Atlantic article on the current state of Venezuela

[K1052]

That can be attributed directly to the expense of dealing with SF's horrendous permitting system that is nothing more than a shake down and which permits NIMBY's (which are abundant in SF) to stifle construction projects for every reason under the sun. So what you have left in SF after all the regulation, taxation, mandates, etc is a stratified lawyer of society where the middle-class, small and some medium sized businesses owners are pushed out because the playing field is only affordable to the very wealthy or those who are completely and utterly subsidized for by city government who always panders to them first with housing needs.

Yes the entitlement process is a horror show and is manipulated at every turn by NIMBYs and craven supervisors. Giving so much power to a few locals to gum up anything their backwards little hearts desire has caused this situation. This is true for basically all the bay area cities as well. They're all pointing at each other to build more housing but making it ever more difficult to do so in their own municipalities.

The state needs to step in and say "F you people this is a crisis" and permit expedited as of right construction and clear criteria for granting variances on a timeline consistent with a written framework/critera. Blow all the petty local bullshit out of the water.

 

[Jodell88]

Maduro is set to visit Trinidad and Tobago on Monday. I wonder what will be agreed on during the visit.

 

[Genx87]

Selfish Assholes like this, under the guise of capitalism

Is why you end up with egotistical dictators like this pretending to be saviors of the people and making things worse.

But as long as you are getting your $100.00 for a gallon of gas, or Daraprim from US$13.5 to US$750 per tablet it's all good.

I have a real issue with people using that asshole as proof capitalism is bad. The only reason why he was able to do what he did was because of govt regulation. First have build a wall around this country for prescription drugs. Which drives up the cost because the drug manufacturers dont have to compete with globalization. Second the govt regulation to get a second manufacturer for this generic is a major barrier to entry. Without the govt interfering that guy would never be able to do what he did.

 

[PokerGuy]

Maduro is set to visit Trinidad and Tobago on Monday. I wonder what will be agreed on during the visit.

I think what he's doing is trying to make sure he has some place to escape to when the inevitable revolution begins and people start looking to scalp him.....

 

[PokerGuy]

The lack of actually building sufficient new housing has caused massive rent increases and a housing shortage, not rent control or renter protections.

That doesn't make sense. In a normal market, if there is tremendous demand for something (like housing), then the supply will be created to match it. The reason the supply is not being created to match the demand is regulation/rent controls/absurd renter protections/NIMBY issues etc. The marketplace can't come to an equilibrium (at least not within desired parameters) if supply and demand can't fluctuate as needed.

 

[Jodell88]

I think what he's doing is trying to make sure he has some place to escape to when the inevitable revolution begins and people start looking to scalp him.....

Then the Caribbean countries are the last places he should go.

His visit probably has something to do with a natural gas field that straddles our border with Venezuela though.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Socialism fails again...promising equality and prosperity...delivering poverty, misery, and tyranny.

 

[Atreus21]

No one, and I mean no one, could see this coming.



Wisdom comes from suffering. Venezuelans (those who survive) will be wiser after this plays out.

The paragraph about Who Killed Maikel Mancilla Peña is heartbreaking. To answer the question, socialism killed him. Just as it killed all the babies who couldn't get readily available treatments thanks to leftism's moral crusade against profit and market realities. Makes me sick.

 

[CaptainGoodnight]

Socialism fails again...promising equality and prosperity...delivering poverty, misery, and tyranny.

Reminds me of the college that Sanders wife bankrupted. She justified her bad policies by saying: No, the changes will pay for themselves!

Wonder where we heard that lie before...

 

[K1052]

That doesn't make sense. In a normal market, if there is tremendous demand for something (like housing), then the supply will be created to match it. The reason the supply is not being created to match the demand is regulation/rent controls/absurd renter protections/NIMBY issues etc. The marketplace can't come to an equilibrium (at least not within desired parameters) if supply and demand can't fluctuate as needed.

Rent control and renter protection seem to have little effect on the housing supply when it's been looked at impartially. Lack of supply due to a terrible approvals process and NIMBY opposition is the #1 driver by far.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Rent control and renter protection seem to have little effect on the housing supply when it's been looked at impartially. Lack of supply due to a terrible approvals process and NIMBY opposition is the #1 driver by far.

Umm...Rent control has an affect on the market place. In SF you have owners who are basically subsidizing units at well below market rates for tenants. As a result there has been a spike of owners of those rent control units cashing out of the market. No one wants to be a landlord of a rent control unit in SF because that essentially means you've become an indentured servant to their tenants.

Additionally when these units are sold the prospective buyers of these units always reconvert these unit out of being rent control units to high priced condo units as rent control doesn't allow for or provide any motivation via profit taking for new developers to replenish that type of stock of rental units in a marketplace where demand is sky-high but supply is very, very tight but you have people planting themselves in rent control units for decades at the expense of the owner's ability to match market levels for rental prices.

 

[Genx87]

Umm...Rent control has an affect on the market place. In SF you have owners who are basically subsidizing units at well below market rates for tenants. As a result there has been a spike of owners of those rent control units cashing out of the market. No one wants to be a landlord of a rent control unit in SF because that essentially means you've become an indentured servant to their tenants.

Additionally when these units are sold the prospective buyers of these units always reconvert these unit out of being rent control units to high priced condo units as rent control doesn't allow for or provide any motivation via profit taking for new developers to replenish that type of stock of rental units in a marketplace where demand is sky-high but supply is very, very tight but you have people planting themselves in rent control units for decades at the expense of the owner's ability to match market levels for rental prices.

Whaaaaaat? Price controls drying up supply? That is unthinkable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[K1052]

Umm...Rent control has an affect on the market place. In SF you have owners who are basically subsidizing units at well below market rates for tenants. As a result there has been a spike of owners of those rent control units cashing out of the market. No one wants to be a landlord of a rent control unit in SF because that essentially means you've become an indentured servant to their tenants.

Additionally when these units are sold the prospective buyers of these units always reconvert these unit out of being rent control units to high priced condo units as rent control doesn't allow for or provide any motivation via profit taking for new developers to replenish that type of stock of rental units in a marketplace where demand is sky-high but supply is very, very tight but you have people planting themselves in rent control units for decades at the expense of the owner's ability to match market levels for rental prices.

When compared against similar markets without rent control the overall impact has appeared to be fairly small. The owners of rent controlled apartments do have some recourse available to them (buyouts, Ellis Act, etc) to reposition or sell their properties.

The severe lack of construction (for reasons previously mentioned) going back decades is much more to blame. The city has added housing at a rate FAR under what was required and is still in that situation. I know a couple major developers well and the primary roadblocks are always the city process and obstructive community groups. Pretty much only the very deepest pocketed developers get to play there because of the possibility for endless delays and having to grease the appropriate cranks in the community.

 

[K1052]

Whaaaaaat? Price controls drying up supply? That is unthinkable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

City policies/politics and overly empowered local opposition have dried up the housing supply. Believe me the developers want to build but a given project that would take a couple years anywhere else could take 5, 10, or even 15 years (if ever) in SF. Oh and if the local NIMBY's get real whipped up they can just get a ballot initiative passed to have your project killed.

 

[Jodell88]

Venezuela and T&T have signed a MOU which allows them both to direct energy companies to proceed on their cross border projects (Natural Gas I believe). Plan to approach the international market jointly.

Venezuela wants T&T manufactured goods. (No big surprise due to the shortage)

Venezuela and T&T while work cooperatively to limit arms entering T&T. (I'm skeptical, but i hope it works).

Repatriation of respective citizens in detention on both sides of the border.

 

[Spungo]

The lack of actually building sufficient new housing has caused massive rent increases and a housing shortage, not rent control or renter protections.

Simple question: why hasn't the free market come to save the day? A quick google search suggests the tallest building in SF is 61 floors. If some super rich cat like Donald Trump or a REIT could invest a $1B to build something that has $10B worth of condo units to sell, or, even better, $10B worth of apartments to rent, why hasn't it happened? If it were as simple as getting building permits, it would be quite easy to bribe the parties involved. Things like cost controls add a lot of uncertainty, so they drive away potential investors.

Greedy people would love to buil in SF, but something is stopping it from happening. Almost all of it can be lumped into a category called anti-business laws.

 

[K1052]

Simple question: why hasn't the free market come to save the day? A quick google search suggests the tallest building in SF is 61 floors. If some super rich cat like Donald Trump or a REIT could invest a $1B to build something that has $10B worth of condo units to sell, or, even better, $10B worth of apartments to rent, why hasn't it happened? If it were as simple as getting building permits, it would be quite easy to bribe the parties involved. Things like cost controls add a lot of uncertainty, so they drive away potential investors.

Greedy people would love to buil in SF, but something is stopping it from happening. Almost all of it can be lumped into a category called anti-business laws.

I already answered your question in subsequent posts.

Also rent control only impacts units that were actively being leased when it went into effect (1979). It does not impact new construction.