By Jack L. Allen Santa Monica
(Re: “Rents just keep on rising in this town,” March 12, page 1) For the sake of argument I will accept all the assumptions made by Mr. Herrera in his article. According to Mr. Herrera, rent control provides the City of Santa Monica with many important benefits. The article states that “rent control is a serious crisis that will dramatically affect life decisions” and “is a big issue because of the loss of economic diversity.” Santa Monica greatly benefits by having a wide range of people with different economic, political and social life styles living in our City.
Now since we all agree on the vital importance of diversity, and we all agree that rent control is a positive tool in guarantying this diversity, then why are we the people and why is the City of Santa Monica so willing to put this tremendous responsibility on the backs of a relatively few number of people? It’s time for the City and the people of Santa Monica to step up to the plate and put their tax dollars where their mouths are. It’s time for a City-wide tax to subsidize affordable rental housing. We all benefit and we all should shoulder the burden. This seems like the only practicable, fair and sustainable long-term solution.
By the way, I’m paying a lot more for a loaf of bread these days, but thank goodness those who need assistance in purchasing groceries don’t have to rely on the store owners to lower their prices, but have the benefits of food stamps paid for by our tax dollars. Lets do the same for Santa Monica renters.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 19, 2007. Read the original PDF.