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Forum Post: Rent **Rape**!

Posted 8 years ago on March 23, 2015, 9:32 p.m. EST by elf3 (4203)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

We must do something about this now! Every ceo who refuses to budge on wages, every ceo who refuses to hire full time, every ceo who creates a traffic storm in towns across america but headquarters offshire and pays no taxes, but uses resources for water , electric, and gas thereby driving up all our rates on utilities...also owns rental properties. Rental properties are tax shelters, and investments where they can divest their incomes into a capital gains rate of tax. While we pay and pay, they get write off after write off. They profit off of subsidized rents which we all must contribute to so renters on stagnant wages can reach their exhorbitant rates. We need rent control now! We need to stop subsidizing robber land barons and insist that living somewhere is not a second income business for ceos and traders...or anyone for that matter. It is absolutely insane I look at rates twice what it would cost to own. How does one own when one can never save since their entire income goes to rent? This is a crisis ...it is greed gone mad. 8.00 an hour starting wage, 12-14 dollars an hour for an experienced secretary, rent rates of 1400-1700 per month. Fucking rape! Ceo won't pay us, then demands all of what we do get in rent! Double fucking us " bend over working class...we own ...YOU"

128 Comments

128 Comments


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[-] 6 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Landlord monopolies!!! "Outbidding you today and tomorrow with cash on housing you could have afforded to own if we had some regulation. "

[-] 5 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

The Return Of The Vultures and ''The Secret Behind My Hedge Fund Trade on U.S. Housing Market''-

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article49666.html I really do think that y'all should try to read that and

perhaps http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112395/wall-street-hedge-funds-buy-rental-properties too.

Finally on a more 'humor in the face of horror' tip, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zj_9lTp-2k

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Too good had to stop reading as my blood began to boil! Add to that the one program to help people own...which our taxes pay for...offering them in bulk to be rented by investors ( sold to them at a better rate than we could get) huh?!!!!

So fannie mae is hosing us all in favor of ws! A program to promote ownership that further pushes it out of reach?...seriously paid for by us! http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/02/27/fannie-mae-begins-marketing-foreclosed-homes-as-rentals/

[-] 5 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

"Credit Suisse has been retained as Fannie’s financial advisor on the sales." and as if that was not bad enough "The program is designed to test the market for larger sales of foreclosed properties that haven’t yet been converted to rentals. Fannie is starting off by selling homes that were already rented out when the company acquired the property through foreclosure."! WhatTF is wrong with Americans? Just howTF did they all become so utterly docile and inured to their cultivation in, blind-to-own-self-interest slavery?! Also see: http://ecclesia.org/forum/uploads/bondservant/jfkP.pdf + Listen to You-Tube link above please.

[-] 2 points by Nevada1 (5843) 8 years ago

good links

[-] 3 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

Thanks and I think that you need to see this - http://ecclesia.org/forum/uploads/bondservant/jfkP.pdf and particularly in the light of - http://www.publicbankinginstitute.org/ The US-FED will not like you to though!

[-] 3 points by Nevada1 (5843) 8 years ago

Public Banking----Excellent. Could not open first one, but did read second.

Yes, the US FED does not want us to know that we do not need it.

Central banks are for financing War (and probably other dirty things).

[-] 5 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

"On June 4, 1963, a virtually unknown Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110, was signed with the authority to basically strip the Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest. With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. The Christian Law Fellowship has exhaustively researched this matter through the Federal Register and Library of Congress. We can now safely conclude that this Executive Order has never been repealed, amended, or superceded by any subsequent Executive Order. In simple terms, it is still valid."

The above was how the link about the FED that you couldn't open started. It is a ".pdf" file that requires your computer to have and run 'Adobe Acrobat' and/or 'Adobe Reader'. Sorry about that now and here is a replacement link - http://www.john-f-kennedy.net/thefederalreserve.htm - Also, please do try to further consider the short video"Wealth Inequality In America" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

The 99%'s struggle against Banking Corporations and their Private Clubs that are The Central Banks, is KEY to OWS' collective fight for economic justice. Perhaps it was always thus.

[-] 5 points by Nevada1 (5843) 8 years ago

They killed President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The FED continued on, and they got their Vietnam War. FED criminals are Genetic Garbage. Everyone needs to see all this. Would make good forum post.

[-] 4 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

JFK sure is a long way away from Hillary! Perhaps we really need to... "Stop Smoking the Democrack"- http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/01/stop-smoking-the-democrack/ and see 'Liberal', is not enough!

[-] 6 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Also ...destroy brokerages !!! Tar, burn, feather them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make these pimps illegal! Rape trafficking muthas.

[-] 2 points by Nevada1 (5843) 8 years ago

Financial products, are filthy things. Incorporation, is Killing earth.

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 8 years ago

Financial products, are filthy things.

Yep - despicable - criminal - deplorable - diseased - horrific - legalized theft - depraved - vile - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

More so are the bills containing tax codes and legalese that allow these products to hide under the fiber of our democracy under the guise of freewill. The ability for corporations to swing their arms should stop at the proverbial nose of society. What is good for Wall Street traps most of us under a multinational totalitarian corporate boot.

[-] 3 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 8 years ago

legalese = muddying the waters of understanding - making unnecessarily complex - things that should be clearly understood by all - all the better to run circles (games) around the majority of the population.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Law can be written so it is open to interpretation as well. If you have the money, you can take risks that the majority of society can not. Fines are tolls offering a pass through for the wealthy while keeping the rest of us gated. If the average joe decides to interpret tax codes or law it can land them in jail...gives "regulation " a whole new meaning. Regulating mainstreet while wallstreet rides at the front of the financial bus. Finance is freedom in America...not only does it buy it, it can buy you more freedom than others as well as the ability to limit the finances and freedom of those who can't compete with multinational corpirate wealth nor pay fines to take the same risks they do with the law.

[-] 5 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 8 years ago

If one has money - then - in this society/world - the law is a minor nuisance - not meant to impede those with money - but meant to freeze in place (a place of subservience) all without money.

[-] 1 points by Nevada1 (5843) 8 years ago

Exactly.

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Landlords are allowed to legally check credit...and income. This sets up a system whereby the landlord is always in the drivers seat of rental negotiations. They can easily find out what you have to spare. They can always push you right to your limit. It puts a renter in an unfair disadvantage. Id like to know my landord's income...how much can they spare...have they screwed previous renters evictions without notice, confiscating valuables, entering without permission? How do I know they aren't shady? Won't sell my private info? You are expected to trust and entrust your family's life to them...but they are allowed by law to know everything about you. Can I check my landlord's credit report? Tells me a lot if he doesn't pay his cable... integrity and all. Will he fix pipes or problems? Key to your dwelling and financial life....seems wrong to me!

Investments come with risks yet the renter takes on every risk while the landlord gets a tally sheet and an assessment while the renter fumbles around in the dark.

[Deleted]

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Yes but private corporations don't have to share their stuff with us...while they spy on every piece of the people.

If you want me as your customer ...then here is a privacy agreement you will need to sign: I will have backdoor access to your computer, and the ability to track and rate you as well as openly share that and your data with your peers and competitors as well as other clients...I would like the social and maiden name as well as telephone email addresses of all board members including the ceo. I also want you to sign a liability release clause in the event I stiff you on payment or cause you any damages or injury. Hmmm ( life in my mind is good)

[-] 5 points by schmoot (77) from Kerrville, TX 8 years ago

The rentier class are a greater threat to our survival than all the tyrants and terrorists since the beginning of civilization.

They are our most dangerous public enemy. If the rich can't be prosecuted or confronted militarily, we must launch drone attacks as is done with Isis, Al-Qaeda and other such dangers. Send all of the billionaires, giga-corporate officers and investors, and Trillion dollar bankers to Guantanamo and/or sterilize them to eliminate the threat forever. Sterilize their children at puberty.

[-] 4 points by windyacres (1197) 8 years ago

I disagree with sterilization and that the rentier class is our most dangerous public enemy. I would agree that the rentier class paying more for rent than a mortgage payment is a bad symptom.

The new world of drones is significant and I expect control of the skies to be an important issue from now on.

[Deleted]

[-] 3 points by windyacres (1197) 8 years ago

It's hard to argue with the bank system and land ownership being the primary issues, currently that seems true.

What if drones made missiles obsolete? The control of the skies is the ultimate issue for the future.

[-] 2 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

On the matter of sky controlling drones - http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/sixty-percent-global-drone-exports-come-israel-new-data - 'SkyNet' is in danger of being created, as we sleep walk.

[-] 2 points by windyacres (1197) 8 years ago

It doesn't matter who invented them or whether someone can hear them or not, it concerns me that some group gains superiority of the skies. Boots on the ground, tanks, ships, are no match for drones and gradually will become obsolete.

[-] 1 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

Total 'Top Deck Cover' is what it's all about. I agree with you but it doesn't hurt to know who is really pushing the tech.+ fyi, please see http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drones/

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Yeah i get the outrage but that extreme rhetoric doesn't look good for us. Comparing landlords or anything to Al-Qaeda shadows the arguments. I call Astro-Turf on this post. Economic Rape ...stands as a better descriptive gets point across and attention without being ridiculous or making us look ridiculous. Let's not give Limbaugh or msm potential quotes like this huh? In two point two seconds they can snuff out the whole issue with that kind of quote. If it makes it far enough to even be heard ...climbing a mountain...don't take the hike and throw out your oxygen before you reach the top.

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Landlording is a business...tax it as such!!!!!! Unless you live in the building with your tennants ...we tax you your business tax rate! Enough is enough! Not too mention we limit how many rental properties you can own in a given area...how many families lives you can control. How much housing corporate entities and barons ca n buy up and monopolize.

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

And I'm not saying to ignore world issues but we have to start fixing the things we can have some control over in this country...things that are dire ....people are suffering here too. We have a housing crisis. The media pigs will never report on this...( they all own them) in fact it's the elite's favorite type of investment and a nice little power trip to boot. Gives them control. They can send someone out on the street, take all their belongings, threaten eviction, look down their noses as you virtually jump through hoops to live in their insanely overpriced shitty apartment with bed bug infested carpet... and stale smoke or cooking stench from other units. Ohhh la la it has disgusting tile and a hideous kitchen... but dear we can stand up in this one. But don't forget you are tennant at will and when I decide to liquidate my assets and turn this ole dump into a vinyl nightmare with plastic molding...and flip it as a condo...you can have thirty days to rearrange your life in a fun little game we landlords like to call apartment firedrill. Move move move..down the ladder peon. L-daddy needs a new flatscreen and a benz with auto park.

[-] 4 points by agkaiser (2516) from Fredericksburg, TX 8 years ago

Adjuncts to rentier rape are today's rapacious intellectual property laws that further enrich the ruling elite parasites at the expense of decent human beings. Only the leeches and deadbeat scum that have risen to the top and self destructive fools support patents and copyrights that can grant monopolies for more than 100 years. Only immortal corporations, not authors and inventors, can benefit from such a corruption of the founding fathers constitutional intent.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/cerberus-becoming-landlord-to-catch-boom-in-rental-homes

Since the housing crash, Wall Street-backed firms, led by Blackstone Group LP, have institutionalized the historically mom and pop business of renting single-family homes. Real estate investment trusts, private-equity firms and hedge funds have spent at least $25 billion purchasing more than 150,000 houses since 2012, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.

[-] 1 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 8 years ago

rape is the forced seeding of another

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

WallStreet is spreading its seed into the landlord " business"

Can you out-bid WalMart when you and your new pregnant wife look for a backyard and swing set? Answer no one can. Unless we regulate this now...it is our future. That is the future of America. We are but mere batteries for the ruling class...farming us for their champagne wishes and caviar dreams...while we press our hands against the glass starving watching them feast at our expense. A functioning society has give and take.

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Welcome to the Monkey House

[-] 2 points by agkaiser (2516) from Fredericksburg, TX 8 years ago

When your being screwed against your will, you're being raped. Anyone with half a brain knows that. But then what can one expect of halfwits but to fail to understand that they're being screwed.

[-] 2 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 8 years ago

enough if this obfuscation

[-] 0 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Or maybe the halfwits know, if your getting raped and there is nothing that you can do about it, one may as well lay back and enjoy it. grrrrr.

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

And some choose to join them? ( you meant to say) I say neuter them!

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Is rent rape in the dictionary yet? How about dick wages? Empty pocket degree? ...I see far too much complacency...get a little angry for me ok...like irish drums lord of the dance meets death metal pissed. For pete's sake Stop being so polite on this forum. Rape sucks...economic rape too...let us give it the gravity and anger due! Long overdue! Piss on wall street! They pis s on us daily!

[-] 3 points by mdonelly (324) from Mineola, NY 8 years ago

They tore down St Vincent's hospital in Manhattan about 3 years ago, and from what I can gather, 'It has been a mess for the people living there with long waiting times at the remaining hospitals, and it must and sadly mean that life-saving help sometimes comes too late.' Then after they plowed St Vinny's.. down, they built high end condos there!

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Yes an entire generation relegated to prefab vinyl condos with paper thin walls and pergo flooring. Slapping them up and tearing down forests and hospitals...so these robber barons can charge outrageous prices or profit from these rental complexes on rates higher than mortgages. Greedy pigs profiting on tomorrows leaders...pressing their faces in the dirt and loading their backs down. What kind of leaders will we have? Exhausted, burnt out, hollowed out shells of people who used to dream. And these dirty unethical rapists will be retiring on yachts eating caviar saving nothing for future generations.

[-] 2 points by mdonelly (324) from Mineola, NY 8 years ago

When more of us either gain, or regain your palpable sense of outrage, we will be a lot further along.

[-] 3 points by agkaiser (2516) from Fredericksburg, TX 8 years ago

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/the-euthanasia-of-the-rentier/

If one makes/has so much money that all they can do with it is loan/rent it out at interest or purchase some asset/property that can be rented (made to produce revenue by the work of others such as employees or renters) then one makes/has too much money. Obviously the same applies to property one has and/or controls.

The problem of the existence of rentiers, who are destroying the real economy by exsanguinating us with their rental streams, is solved by confiscatory taxation of their excess property and money.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/03/12/rentiers-are-at-root-of-1-percent/

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23767) 8 years ago

Great post, elf. And, great points. Can't even live on twice the minimum wage in most places. This is not the America most of us want, maybe a few do, but it's time the masses take it back.

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Thanks bw...I think it is one of the pressing issues we are facing. We don't want a corporate housing system. We see how they treat us already as employees and customers. It is already happening and I think one day people won't be able to own anything. We will lease forever. Only the one percent haves will own. I even predict a supermarket subscription to be able to buy food. We must halt these practices before it is too late.

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23767) 8 years ago

Don't give WalMart any ideas, elf, re: supermarket subscriptions. Pretty soon it will be the only store we have to shop at. Keep 'em down, offer 'em shit to buy at cheap prices and they'll be happy with their pathetically low wages...as the stockholders and landowners laugh their way to the bank. Sickening, the whole thing.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Well walmart is renting to themselves...laundering profits through rental breaks not long before they branch into it ( if we can think of it they have already been lobbying for it long ago) we have to stay ahead of this...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117027500505994065

Wal-Mart Cuts Taxes By Paying Rent to Itself

Reits

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23767) 8 years ago

It's just friggin' outrageous, REIT "Real Estate Investment Trust" Just one more way to rip off the American people.

And, it reminds me of Disney internships where they pay the kids minimum wage and then charge them RENT to live in Disney apartments. What a coup this country has been for corporations. Time we take it back, people!

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

If all the money a ceo pays you, you spend back on a rental property owned by a ceo, can this actually be called income ? Seems to me it is more like a loan. Well more or less, indentured servitude.

[Deleted]

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

It isn't a competition Matt...ha - that is the most content I've seen in one of your posts...I can actually decipher what the hell your point is. I'm sick of reading the same old on here. Let's talk about what this economy is doing to people. I want some Outrage!!!. I don't want to hear or read or link to any more facts. Facts are a diversion playing right into WS hands ( akin to proving your innocence and gathering all your documents after a bank let someone use your data to open accounts)...let's talk about what we know...we don't need facts...we know what we are experiencing. The fact that we need facts to prove reality? Gaslighting...we aren't imagining our lives...we don't need facts! Fuck em! Let's talk reality!

Rape victims are often put on trial...how much evidence do we have to gather in light of all the bruises and blood? Are we on trial for being victims? How many facts will it take to satisfy the powers that be?

[-] 8 points by Rollo (60) 8 years ago

There are two sets of "facts".

We've got the official "Wall Street facts". Those are the heavily manipulated facts that the 1% feed the 99%. "The economy is doing great", "inflation is very low", "unemployment is sharply declining", etc. They tell us everything is great and we should just keep whistling past the graveyard. Wall St facts are an opiate the 1% feed us to perpetuate the illusion their system is sustainable.

Then we've got the unofficial "Main Street facts", aka the "Real Facts". Those are the facts that storefronts are vacant, that good jobs are disappearing, that our govt is a bunch of traitorous sell outs, that "the news" is the 1%'s propaganda machine, that as each year passes more and more of our rights are lost, that we live to be Ruling class debt/wage slave consumers, that there's always another war to fight and bombs to drop.

If the 99% don't start changing "the facts", the fact is our future is doomed to become some Ruling class neofeudalist wet dream.

[-] 6 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Bravo!!! From me and the people in the room with me discussing as I read your response - agree!

[-] 3 points by Rollo (60) 8 years ago

Thanks elf !!!

Now you know how I usually feel when I read your comments.

Once Again ! * "elf for President 2016 !!!" *

[Deleted]

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Thank you Matt ...I have been talking out loud to myself in the chip aisle for years about this...I don't eat them often but when I do I'm not paying 8 bucks a bag seriously what ?!!! I grew up in a time when there was a potato chip factory ...you could go in get a nice bag of chips ...and I'm not that old. Chips were cheap. I can't walk down the aisle without having tourettsian blurts of horror...and usually also because of the pms that induced me to want chips ( doesn't help) chips and chocolate should be free for women. For everyone's safety. But first tax free feminine products ( haven't priced this have you) heh ! Racket! Profiting off of womens' ability to produce life. Tampon Industrial Complex...period! ;-)

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

CEO Landlords

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Wait a minute. Owning property and renting it out is one of the very few businesses a small time little fish can engage in to earn a little extra money. Believe it or not, most landlords are not big corporations or .1% rich people getting richer (although quite a few of them own rental properties too), but rather hardworking middle class type folk trying to earn an extra buck at nite.

The reason why most rents are so high, is because there are so many low class renters out there who don't pay their rent and then go on to trash the place they're living in; thus stiffing the landloard. The landlord needs to ask for a high rent to cover his butt. So, I'm sorry, as a small time landllord myself having been stiffed by low class tenants too many times myself, I have no sympathy here. If you want lower rents, start paying your rent in the first place! If you want to live in a place for less, save your money, quit smoking (anything), throw away that i-phone, sleep on somebody's sofa for a few years; and with the money you save then go make a down payment on your own house.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Are you offering up your sofa? Anyone ...please oh please let me loaf on your sofa for five or six years so I can save a down payment on my own house. Yeahhh that is surely a viable option. What is the average down on a 350, 000 ( median home price in my area- for a condo no less) average yearly income is 35k before taxes. Plus other expenses to meet like food, car, commuting costs, toiletries, clothing for work, haircuts. Student loans...sure no problem. We will have our own place in no time...don't forget the little problem of establishing good enough credit for a bank when your income will never satisfy their income to debt ratio with prices the way they are and incomes the way they are. People are trapped between your sofa, and landlord barons. With no upward mobility. They get a raise you go up on rent...keeps going like that year after year.

Ps- I live in an area of the country where actual jobs still exist ...so moving is not really a good option either.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

I'd offer up my sofa, but my wife just bought a new living room set, and the sofa I would have let you stay on just got hauled off by the trash people.

There is always the trailer court.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Fortunately I don't need any sofas anymore or a trailer court ( although nothing is certain for anyone even you Shule got to watch out for karma)...I'm lucky enough (barely) not to have to subject my life to the scrutiny or good graces of greedy land ownership classes. It was a hard struggle and i got free...But rules have changed now and I feel I must advocate for those I know will never get off that renting treadmill. Did your tenant pay for the new living room set? (Ends meeting pretty good huh)

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Oh, so you do own a home. kudos.

Now all you need to do is rent it out, and with the money you get buy another house. You'll be on your way in no time. Welcome to the exciting world of landownership!

btw: yes my tenents helped pay for the living room set. And my wife lets them sit on the sofa when they come by to drop off the rent.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Landlording is a nice escape for the working stiffs a ladder rung on your way to wealthy class ...but it is at the expense of every other working class person ...for every one who takes that particular rung up...you lower the rung for another middle class person into poor class. It squeezes the housing market and puts homeownership out of reach. I can't blame you for taking it I suppose...but I can blame our government for creating this disaster. And wallstreet ...if we had real work so many wouldn't be turning housing into a market . It is opportunistic at best...leaching at worst

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Actually, landlording is a respectable service provided to people who do not have their act together, or otherwise cannot, in one way or another, to own a home though I do admit, as in any line of business, there are a few dubious characters out there who give the trade a bad reputation.

Instead of ranting on small fish trying to make a living on honest work, I'd concern myself with the big sharks that are out there. That is the real problem. That is what is causing rents to go the way they are. Check out this other post:

http://occupywallst.org/forum/assistant-sec-of-housing-catherine-austin-fitts-bl/

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

OH you mean people who got laid off and lost their homes....or those just starting out in life who don't have rich parents or trust funds?

Yes renting began as a good thing ...young adults just starting out head off into the world and are able to rent cheap and save for a down payment...it isn't that way anymore. Rents now cost more than mortgages. So it's a trap. Now landlords are profiting so much ...no regulation....that everyone and their brother joe wants in ( including housing brought to you by WalMart and rich Chinese businessmen...and you)

Can you see where this is headed? Houses get more and more valuable as investments...and average people are pushed out of the American Dream of home ownership. The workers will be relegated to the ghetto. Mark my words ...this is creating a caste system and a country our children won't want to live in. Remember baseball games and backyard barbecues? A doctor and teacher and barber sharing the same zipcode. Add in another problem...you don't care who you rent to as long as you get that section 8 guaranteed check. Said it yourself your tenants trash your places. Well with all the drug heads etc...what kind of neighborhoods are you creating? Ownership attracts people who care about community and take pride, plant flowers, paint their houses. Landlords let them fall to shit, have seven trash barrels overflowing out front. Create blight. Maybe not you...sounds like you try to fix them up...but since most politicians also own "investment property" they don't force regulations or compliance on landlords. It is Pottersville.

Give a man four walls to call his own ...it is the greatest dignity one can have. It is self reliance. I would see every person in this country with their own home than create a renter class. I would rather see houses given out for free than have a nation of people in limbo living for too much money in rentals. It would be more cost effective for government to buy housing and give it away than to subsidize market rate landlords year after year under section 8. It makes no financial sense. And yeah you'll have an occasional bad homeowner but they aren't anonymous renters with a wizard of oz landlord you have to find...you can talk to them ...they are reachable. But most homeowners care, take pride in something they have to call their own ....something that reflects on themselves and not an anonymous landlord.

Film...Real Estate for Ransom

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=p_UTVeGZKc-yogSj_oGADw&url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DXL3n59wC8kk&ved=0CCEQtwIwAQ&usg=AFQjCNEjzPDv6Wg_WHNVNh55w5lCQ0VoXg

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Actually under the section 8 program, a tenent can by a house with their section 8 check. I'm more than happy to sell a place to somebody with a government guarenteed check. Its a wiin-win for everybody. Some tenents take advantage of the offer, but a lot more tenents don't because they do not want to be bothered with the responsibility and the maintenance.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

If you 're talking rent to own it is extremely risky for the buyer...landlord can back out and I would not advise anyone to enter into such arrangements because buyer is locked but landlord not and if I'm remembering on this it works kind of like a balloon payment or some such fucked up deal. Plus why would you sell your meal ticket ? You would give up the equity and investment?

Hmmm:

http://www.propublica.org/thetrade/item/rent-to-own-wall-streets-latest-housing-trick

That explains it.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

the panelists hailed the product, calling it a "yield enhancer" that would increase profits. In a standard lease, one panelist explained, the owner covers costs like taxes, maintenance cost and insurance. With lease purchase, the renter pays those expenses. And it's easier to evict because the occupant has only a rental agreement. It's not a foreclosure proceeding against an owner, after all. One went further. Eli Shaashua, of Red Granite Capital Partners, described it this way: "Basically, it's an added fee to the rent. For us, it instills pride in homeownership for some tenants who cannot currently when they rent a house own their own home." Having pride in ownership means that the renter takes care of the property more carefully. So that's a good thing — for the owner, that is. Shaashua went on to explain that his options last generally for two years. A renter pays a bit extra for the right to buy the house at a predetermined price, one above the current value. Then Shaashua delivered the kicker to the roomful of would-be investment managers: "Most times, given the reality, tenants do take it, but it's hard for them to execute the option,"

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[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Money is an imaginary construct which rules give tangible weight. It's real in as much that if one doesn't abide...you can starve ( or eat cake).

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

I could be an agent with the fbi or prostituting for all you know. I could tell you whatever you might like to know about ...but I don't play phish well unless you want to pay for it ...hey landlords...they sell their souls for cash too. Just depends on how low you go. Where do you draw your moral boundary ?

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[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

They can also barter skills.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

I clean septic tanks on occasion.

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Shitty job ...don't you mean you are a drunk who cleans septic tanks on the side( c'mon they all are) furniture is no compensation prize.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Well yeh, geee, You gotta do something if you want the money. Otherwise don't complain that ya don't got it.

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

I complain about a rigged playing field...not about being broke. Biggest misnomer about this whole movement. I like hard work. I like to get my hands dirty...and I consider myself intelligent, I rarely shop and live minimally. But this country is getting ugly. Bright hardworking people relegated to Stuckys and as the service/indentured minions to ruthless, and wealthy people who either inherited it, or in general didn't mind stepping on others to get it. And if what everyone is telling me is that we all have to become ruthless and cut throat or we will be the exploited..I don't accept that. Doesn't sound like a pleasant place to be living and I refuse to lower myself to live there. I will fight it til my last breath.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

[-] 4 points by lugano (553) 7 hours ago "Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine" -

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Sure. I agree. So why are you giving me a hard time for cleaning out septic tanks for a little extra money? I was under a house the other day crawling through sewer sludge to place a pump to get rid of a pool of the filth from a drain line that broke that the tenent did not tell me about. Meanwhile the tenents were sitting in the living room watching TV, and smoking a dubie.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Razzing ...did it fly past you? Most landlords have their side development crew and employees they make do this. Hard row for an average joe to take on. You get the tenants you deserve? People may be afraid to call you...afraid of evictions maybe other landlords made them afraid they will get blamed ...landlords famous for trumping reasons to steal deposits.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

By definition working / middle class means you work for your income ...not that you invest money and sit around collecting a profit.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Owning real estate does not involve sitting around. Most small time landlords are out working nites after coming home from their primary jobs fixing toilets, cleaning up trash, and getting rid of roaches ('cause their tenants trashed the place.)

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Must be nice for you to know your struggles aren't permanent though? Give it a few years and those properties will increase in enough value to make you a rich man...you will have built something. Those people they will still be renting and working a crappy job. Too bad they will never get that leg up. Just remember whose backs built your wealth when you get up there ok? We do not exist in a vacuum...nor do our successes.

The survival of the individual depends on the collective. We do not live in a vacuum. When the collective thrives, so does the individual. If for no other than selfish reasons , we must care about others well being. Nature has inextricably linked us together.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Let us hope so. Getting into real estate is one of the very few ways a little guy can get into the act and achieve something in our capitalist society. Hey, I sorry, but I didn't make the rules. I'm just doing what I have to do to eek out a decent living. I'm not getting rich, and I'm not ripping anybody off. Most my tenents are grateful I'm their landlord (except the one's who don't pay the rent, and they see the bad side of me.) If you don't like it, change the system.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

So people being subsidized tend to say a lot. System works if you work it. To any landlord I want you to think about you and your family picking up in thirty days with no place to go....the fear and loss of familiarity and home. These aren't hotels...people get attached. While this is just business to you...this is their life. Please think about that and the impact of how you choose to respect or ignore that....and how your interaction can so greatly impact the course of an entire life and the lives they impact...like their kids and marriages.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

If the system works when you work it, then what are you complaining about? Just go out and work.

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Meant you...I try to make my living without diving on flawed government systems. So tell me mr contractor...you paged dr summer-off ...business vehicle write off, multiple rentals, what else are you working because as a long time accounting secretary who paid a nearly thirty percent tax rate (and experienced first hand how all these corporations have 12 different rental realty trust companies through which they funnel and basically legally launder their profits)...I'm really keen on keeping track of where my tax money is going and exactly how and who is working it!...I would rather see our elderly and disabled and poor than help someone like you who turns around and acts like he somehow did it without help and never pays it forward but starts acting superior. It's ungrateful and dishonest. In all my years of working and leaving underpaid overworked positions I was hard pressed to find one who didn't operate that way. It was disheartening yet educational.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Why do you not try getting into real estate?

Or is it that you don't want to get your pretty office kept hands from getting dirty?

Landlords help the poor by giving them places to live which they cannot otherwise afford. So don't give me that guilt trip rhetoric.

[-] 3 points by mdonelly (324) from Mineola, NY 8 years ago

I can empathize with both you and elf to some extent. Having been a landlord (not by choice) at my Mom's home, after she moved to FL, and having rented myself, I would not want to do either! It's no fun when your tennant chooses not to pay his rent, but hangs out in bars constantly, or chooses to use his money to support his coke habit. And it sucks when, after you have paid the rent on time and have taken care of the place, that you can't get your deposit back. I know.

The main problem lies in the growing 'corporate control' of the housing market, and a government that is unreponsive to the people.

[-] 2 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Thanks.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

I also spent years in food retail washing the food off rich people and( sexist pigs who confuse me with a stripper)'s plates and wiping lipstick from their wives' mugs. Working your way to secretary takes years of getting your hands dirty. And then you get your soul dirty by dealing with the sexist attitudes like yours who assume I got by on life with my pretty face and file my nails for a living. Men telling me to smile for them. Feeling like something halfway between a concubine and servant. While assholes in their brand new expensive giant gas guzzling tax write- off trucks who only show up on the roads when their winter unemployment runs out cut me off and tailgait me to work.

I'm a painter and I'm good at it. Our culture is drowning out the artists. Netflix and Disney have become high art now. I'm doing what I can to preserve something meaningful out of this pile of garbage being created. I don't care about having lots of stuff. I'm just trying to survive so I can have time to paint. Time is the commodity furthest out of reach for all of us now. Even with all the sacrifices and living simply almost impossible. We will spend our lives working and enjoying it very little. I think we could do things better. I think we need to stop living the way wall street is forcing us to. I, m breaking the shoelace. The more who join me...the better things will be. Don't sink down to survive in this system ...change the system. Human beings were not made to live this way. Free range humans...as opposed to factory farmed, in cages, with no real choices. Sure a pallet of choices granted by wall street ....we take which one is best out of the options they give us ( called choice blindness) we just don't realize the lack of choice to choose something not given. Real estate brokering being one of their options. No thanks! Inexpensive housing is the key to time and freedom from the grind!

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

You said it yourself the current system is going to sink. It isn't working. So rather than hop on board...we all need to hop off.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

There is this book written by Jose Rizal, "Noli Me Tangerie." It is a good read you may like.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

People need to think about what happens when they don't pay what they owe, and trash properties that belong to others. I'm sorry but I've been screwed over too many times by dead beat tenants.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

"Trashing "can be subjective depending on landlord interpretation and by how much they want to keep first last and deposit. Hard to think that tenants dont walk on eggshells ...landlords can be holding their entire savings -yikes 3 months rent when the rent is $14-1600!-...these people have no money to hire lawyers or to save that much again for another place. Usually they have to borrow it or spend years accumulating it. Without that back... Next stop is homelessness...or living in car.

[-] -1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Deadbeats don't need housing. They need jail time.

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

So when the rich practice survival of the fittest they are being smart...when the poor do it you consider them deadbeats. By the way you are working the same section 8 as the people you like to insult. You do it and it is fair to take advantage of the offerings...the poor do it and they are deadbeats. Double standard? And it actually gets you permanently off the grind while it traps them on it. The rich are benefiting far more from section 8 than the poor. Fixing supply and creating demand so people are forced on section 8 ...then somehow convincing government that they should pay you what the market will bare ...except the market is being manipulated by rich investors who are all getting in on this. If they would get out ...prices would fall and section 8 wouldn't be such a dire need. Again forcing reliance on a program from which they benefit from...rich investors drive up price...then get the government to subsidize the inflated rates. It is a landlord bailout. Because somehow...you do people such a great service...like all the " job providers" who monopolize entrepreneurship and lock us all into employeeship by fixing our markets via manipulation and law ( bribing politicians). Actually you are locking people out of homeownership and turning housing into vulture market.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

No. Actually most section VIII people pay their rent. Afterall the government pays it for them. Only a small fraction comes out of their own pocket. Most renters are good honest people, and I'm in no way insulting them. The problem is the few troublemaking deatbeats amoung them who are difficult to discern. They screw over everybody else.

I'm not a big enough fish to set any kind of industry prices.

[-] 3 points by agkaiser (2516) from Fredericksburg, TX 8 years ago

It costs $50 to $60 thousand/year to jail the "deadbeats." You could disappear them by giving them 1/3 to 1/2 of that.

That would pay for the even greater number of homeless children too. Then we wouldn't have the even greater expense of jailing the kids.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Someone who was laid off and had foreclosure...won't have credit for an apartment or another house for 7 years ...at least depending on actual charge off dates etc. Plus judgement debts that stick around....some people may die of old age before they get out from under landlord clutches. If they aren't homeless.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

All the ceos lay off workers, properties foreclose, ceos buy them real cheap at a steal...now they rent them out or flip them. I see it pays to be both job provider and property owner...they determine their own market. They hire again when they want to fill up their previous employees foreclsure they bought...with tenants. I understand the markets now...constructed rape. Do they get together on this stuff?

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

I agree...i fucking hate landlords who don't enforce no smoking ...why don't you get on that already...it will stop a lot of second hand smoke miscarriages, as well as lower the asthma rates in both children and adults and possibly save save renters from many health problems. Landlords choose to allow smoking. Next time a tennant calls to complain don't just tell them to talk with YOUR other tennants...doesn't work...EVER

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Is this response a joke? If not it is the most ignorant thing I've read in a long time. No one who can afford multiple properties is a little fish. Thank you for demonstrating a perfect example of the wealth gap in this nation...too many rich people crying poor mouth....pretending they are middle class. Hmmm is this why rent is so high? Wealthy people have a whole different concept of real incomes and what people are actually living on for incomes and actually making down here. Minimum wage part time ( most people can't work two because retail refuses to fix the shifts) I've seen people ( real hard working responsible people) after tax taking home 250 dollars a week in an area where rent is average 1600 a month. As much as they need it they can't get full time. Add in utilities, food, car payment, toiletries. They don't have any extras...let alone I phones. Most people I know are perfect tennants fixing things up, even maintaining things they shouldn't because they are afraid to bother the landlords. Like buying sump pumps and sparing a flood , fixing broken pipes, and tolerating windows where the curtains are blowing all the heat they pay for outdoors. Like you can see the curtains blowing around. The landlords repay them...by going up on rent.

[-] 2 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

I must admit you make a very good point here. What about 40% of U.S.A. population is in the situation you describe, and to them the next rung up, that is somebody with a real job paying fair wages, who has a little extra money to invest, i.e. something that was considered the middle class norm back about twenty or so years ago, is now an unreachable dream for too many people. That such people are now considered "wealthy." Yeh, that sucks, but lets not blame it on these small "middle class" fish. Actually, if you think about it they are in the same sinking boat you are in, only that they happen to be in the cabins one deck over you.

[-] 5 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Aw Shule you threw away your point at the end..a little cognitive dissonance . People might also have some extra cash to invest if rents weren't so high...I see a problem here: you call it whatever the market will bare but...why when pay is sooo low ( more than 50 percent of Americans make under 26000 per year) are the rents remaining so damn high? The prices should be falling...but costs keep rising pay keeps falling. Is Harvard Business School totally off the mark? What is going on? Hmm housing growing more expensive as more investors and landlords rush in on it, more people forced to rent, rentals go up. Housing goes up...despite stagnated wages, lay offs , and a growing service sector. Instead of regulating landlords ...the government chose to pay them out of our tax pockets. Government is fixing the market for the wealthy and investors aka landlords, we pay for it through subsidies so our people aren't living on the street. And the rich grow richer...while we fund it and get poorer.

We are literally paying our government to keep us broke. Is this what our taxes are supposed to do? ( how many politicians own rental property?) I would love to get this statistic.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

The reason rents are high is not because us small time landords are greedy, but because it really costs that much to maintain a property in this economy. Most money goes to taxes, to banks in paying mortgages, and maintenance. (Have you been to Loews or Home Depot lately?) And if a tenent decides to trash a place, that is enough to put a landlord under if he doesn't put plenty of money aside for the possibility.

I agree with you about the ugly economic trend in this country, but I assure you it is little of the landlord's doing.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Home improvement is a landlord tax write off...you don't pay for it...workers ( and your tenants through their jobs) do. That's why home improvement goods stores are charging whatever they want...because the goods are being subsidized through the ever growing landlord boom. ( and write offs they get). And in the end it probably offsets what you pay by lowering your overall tax bracket from your day job.

And makes it harder for those who own to fix up the one distressed house that they managed not to be outbid on landlord investors to get off the rent treadmill. They aren't just competing for housing...now they are competing for housing supplies wood etc. as well. And yes the prices at lowes and home depot are outrageous.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

You're not in reality. Yes one does not pay taxes on real estate improvements, but the principle the landlord still pays for. When a tenant decides to trash a place typical landlord out of pocket fix up cost is usually $20,000 to $30,000. The tenants' measly deposit hardly covers it.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

What the hell kind of tenants are you renting to? Are they punk rockers or skinheads? Your screening process may need work.

Books on honing intuition could be helpful to you.

[-] 2 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Let us not insult punkers and sknheads...

[-] 1 points by gsw (3406) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 8 years ago

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[-] 3 points by gsw (3406) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 8 years ago

The deeply unpopular congress, whose approval rating hovers around a historic low of 10%, has voted to remove the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction from the tax code starting with the 2014 fiscal year. The move is almost assured to solidify the perception of the 113th Congress of the United States as deeply disconnected from the struggles and desires of the populace it is supposed to serve. The move, long championed by entitlement reform advocates like congressman Paul Ryan R-Wisconsin and Ted Cruz R-Texas, will cut entitlement payouts by a staggering 177 billion dollars. 54.33 billion dollars in savings will be realized from discontinuing the earned income tax credit, which generally pays those making less than 12 thousand dollars yearly large cash tax rebates far in excess of the actual tax they paid. 69.7 billion will be saved from the mortgage interest tax deduction, which critics say primarily favors top income earners. The elimination of the child tax credit, which critics say serves no fair purpose, will result in an additional 54 billion dollar savings. A heavy burst of lobbying preceded the vote by several free market/libertarian groups, most notably ones funded by Koch Industries. Initial democratic opposition and reluctance to vote in favor of amending the tax code withered in the face of overwhelming support from the majority party, and several industry groups. Many Democratic caucus members fled their own party leader’s stance to vote in favor of the measure with the majority of Republicans, citing their recent defeat in midterm elections as an endorsement by the people of the Republican platform and agenda.

[-] 4 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Maybe we can start grinding up our elderly into a nice soyent green to be modified with corn syrup and mixed into meat giving it bulk and a pseudo- meatier yet slightly tough and wrinkled texture? The fact is they are doing a corporate tax relief program and they cut these small tax breaks of the working class and poor to pay for it. I can't say I thought the mortgage deduction was fair ...but it paled in comparison to the no business tax loopholes dished out like candy to megalopolies and big business. I might have a fucking aneurysm tonight. I'll be found dead with the forum open in front of me and they will blame Occupy for my death instead if congress. My soul is going to come back and I will haunt some politicians ....I promise. If not does anyone want to go to DC with me? I'm feeling a massive protest coming on!!!

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Also maybe we should start storming the embassies (and before you arrest me nsa) I mean the media outlet arms of the 1 percent. Let's go on air?! Fox news we are coming for you first. We're going to follow you and stalk you like paparazzi. Not a moment of peace. You are our new celebrities. Photogging you from the bushes. Especially u OReilly. Any student Mit occupiers who can rustle us up some camera drones?

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[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Ha ha ...yeah I represent people who made mix tapes and had no internet growing up ( with it I think i could have really been a contender I tell ya)..I still marvel at all this information available right here all for me ...yet still fear the Orwellian potential of it all and long for simple times.

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[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Ha ha I know right biking it, microfiche and card catalogs. Rich families had encyclopedias ( I think a whole set was in the thousands).

[-] 1 points by gsw (3406) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 8 years ago

We're there not petitions here for redress, of grievances. A 10 percent approval of congress, what sort of mandate is that for a nation, founded on principles of self governance? http://www.salon.com/2015/03/26/jesus_would_hate_you_all_and_you_didnt_build_that_the_truth_about_the_ultra_rich_and_their_new_york_times_apologists/

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[-] 2 points by gsw (3406) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 8 years ago

Do I represent Middle class who hasn't had a COLA in 6 years.

Where are the job creators? I will soon need a second job to stay above water.

[-] 3 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

It is us...we get rid of monopolies who outsource...it is me and you. We will not just create our own job but for others too. Bring back the butcher, baker , and candlestick maker. Anonymous faceless business owners don't face scrutiny of community they hide behind the mask of their logo ...like landlords they don't have to have scruples because choices are so limited by their design ...forced reliance.

[-] 4 points by gsw (3406) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 8 years ago

Like the farmers, we will all need to have another job, to let us do our primary job.

Bring back good jobs to USA. No more neoliberalism, trickle down voodo economics

By becoming the baker, butcher, we take them down

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Maybe if it is a room in your house where you actually live ...otherwise BULLSHIT!!!!!

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

And what are you paying insurance for if you can't regain your losses? Isn't there a write off for that too on the capital gains/ losses form ?

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Not to mention if they are section 8 ...state pays guaranteed market rate plus reimburses repair costs.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Yes, renting to section 8 is a very profitable thing to do.

[-] 1 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

My husband worked as a construction trade laborer...these landlords like to brag a lot about how they are milking all of us. Rub in the faces of the working shmoes how their efforts are futile. They think it is because they work smarter than we work hard ...but it is really because they are ruthless sociopaths lacking conscience...and probably had some inheritance to start.

And while he had a job...Does running a treadmill of indentured servitude represent the fruits of trickle down? They didn't hesitate to throw him into the cold after they got theirs. Used abused and discarded.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Landlords build ever towering long term generational wealth...while we cling on with one finger to our shirts.

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

And to think most people in this country are against socialism.

[-] 2 points by elf3 (4203) 8 years ago

Socialism for the wealthy and corporations...communism for workers. And if your post is true ...why are so many corporations partnering with Communist regime of China...as well as modeling businesses and worker relations as well as customer relations after it? In Communism...wealth gets funneled to the top via control and manipulation ( and opression)...just like monopolies. Ergo we need regulatio to keep Capitalism from turning in to Communism.

[-] 5 points by lugano (1221) 8 years ago

No.'Extreme Crapitalism' ''for workers'' is the correct analysis, imo.The propensity of people in America to suffer brain freeze and flex to deep input programming about Communism, Marxism and Socialism is instructive and kind of saddening. I implore you to please read this.. BY an American; FOR Americans - http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/how-swedes-and-norwegians-broke-the-power-of-the-1-percent/ and see what can be possible IFThe 99% truly could get their shit together to act in their own best interests.

The Chinese Communist Party is 'State Capitalist' but is backed by millennia of Confucian Collectivism in a (Han) Chinese society that has a written culture going back over four thousand years. The Chinese Govt. underwrites ALL Chinese banks. In China 'The Regime' (pro 99% or not!) rules... NOT The Banks! We really need to have a critique of Capitalism IF.. we are to understand what is happening to The 99%.

Democracy and Education are THE Keys for The 99%, imo but Crapitalism, needs and feeds ignorance and its 'High Finance / Ponzi Debt' iteration, Is Just Pure Crap... http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/29880-household-debt-is-a-national-crisis We can't keep going on like this much longer.We all know and feel it.

Also please try to consider the following by Prof. Noam Chomsky:''On Adam Smith, What we would call Capitalism he despised" http://www.chomsky.info/books/warfare02.htm +connect all the 3 articles here.

Figuring things out is one of the only freedoms we really have left. So Go Use That Freedom. Go Figure!

[-] 1 points by Shule (2638) 8 years ago

Oh yes absolutely. That is why it is a good idea to have rental real estate.