Posted on 11/07/2015 4:41:59 AM PST by Kaslin
And, it's home to Airbnb, a company that came into existence to solve the housing shortage crisis by connecting homeowners who are willing to rent out a room with strangers who need a place to stay.
What the heck does Airbnb have to do with solving a "housing shortage crisis" at all? It's an informal system of hotel rooms that is connected through an online booking system.
I'm no fan of an overbearing nanny-state, but the regulation of this kind of informal renting arrangement like this is rooted in a legitimate public interest. Zoning laws, for example, are specifically aimed at keeping people from treating their homes as "their own castles" to protect their neighbors from nuisances that threaten their "own castles."
Let's look at his comparison to Marriott and turn this issue around. If a homeowner has a right to do what he wants with his own property, then this would logically mean that Marriott has the right to buy apartment buildings, condominium developments, etc. and turn them into hotels -- or even resident drug treatment facilities or "halfway houses" for paroled prisoners -- without any government approval at all.
How many homeowners -- including those who are Airbnb partners -- would ever stand for that sort of thing?
“Suppose your best friend is down on her luck. Magnanimously, you give her a spare room in your house”
If my best friend were a “her” and she moved in, my wife would see to it I was the one with a housing problem.
As long as there is anything such as a “Property Tax” your home is not yours but belongs to the government taxing body. If you don’t believe me try not paying your taxes and see.
I was explaining that to one of my teenagers just yesterday.
Every woman knows “never invite another woman into her nest”
I guess your argument then is that the wise and benevolent government is better situated to control these things. Because,well, they’ve done such a great job to date. And they’re not subject to bribery, incompetence, sloth, stupidity, and other attendant evils.
Then you have these companies who have no small investment in satisfying their customer base and being allowed to continue their business by acting responsibly. But they’re not capable of adjusting their business model and procedures to deal with problems as they occur. Because only governments can do that in their infinite wisdom and benevolence.
Am I understanding the argument correctly?
The measure failed.
“— without any government approval at all.”
Sounds OK to me.
Despite the measure containing provisions for equitable school funding, the teachers came out against it as well. Kids were told their education would suffer (another lie)...
It is hard to fight that sort of disinformation.
Huh? The government is doing that to us right now - and we have no say in the matter.
Freedonm is not as bad as you think. We should give it a try.
Government lets muslims build mosques wherever they want and we have no say.
Public employees are against tax cuts too.
The list of “workers” grazing at the public trough is endless.
I'd also venture to guess that in many places where Airbnb is popular (New York and San Francisco, for example), most of the company's partners are tenants, not homeowners. That has a whole bunch of added complications, but it pretty much throws the whole "private property" argument out the window.
That’s fine. At least you’re being consistent.
Liberty really frightens you.
L
I take it you’ve never lived next door to a home in a single-family neighborhood that was illegally converted to a three-family home ... with the place turning into a sh!t-hole as a result.
I'm a free man. I don't own my home, which means it really doesn't matter who builds what in my neighborhood. If I don't like it, I move somewhere else.
It doesn't get much better than that, does it?
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