Today will be historic. Throngs of voters will get out and vote NO on Proposition 98, a not thinly veiled attempt to destroy rent control and tenants rights. Of note, Los Angeles has the highest average rents (over $1500) of any city in the Western United States -- even higher than San Francisco. In what direction will allowing the passage of Proposition 98 lead us?
Yesterday, Ross Lincoln wrote a fine post on LAist about the devil in the details regarding Prop 98 (and why we should vote NO). Today, we bring you a wonderful video that SAJE (Strategic Actions for Just Economies) developed to discuss the basis for and impact of Proposition 98. This animated story takes some of the confusion out of the proposition:
The video has been produced en espanol, tambien! Pass it on, and remind your friends and co-workers and family and passers-by -- to vote NO on Proposition 98 TODAY. And then, let's celebrate in OUR streets.




I have an idea; if you don't want the government "robbing you at gun point" how about don't purchase a four unit plus apartment building built before 1978?
Problem solved. Landlords need to wake up to the fact that there's a finate rental housing supply in Los Angeles and they're not the only ones who have rights, just because they have the economic advantage.
Additionally, I'm pretty sure Locke was talking about the individual's right to own personal property through means of labor. This applies much more to the crappy real estate market, and really not at all to the landlord's divine right to own unlimited rental properties and reap as much profit as possible on the free market.
Throngs of voters? That's refreshingly optimistic.
Gotta be optimistic, my friend. :>