Ben Shapiro... No need for introduction. At first I wasn’t much of a fan for a myriad of reasons… but over time… I surprisingly changed my views on him and I would love to explain how and why. For those of you who are freaking out simply based on the title of this episode… I urge you to gear down and at least meet me halfway in giving credit when credit is due! Mr. Shapiro, among many other conservatives, caught my attention at first for simply having THE BALLS and CONFIDENCE to appear on college campuses and plenty of opposing media outlets to advocate and debate their beliefs and politics. I genuinely don’t see the same consistency from the majority of famous left wing politicians, pundits and intellectuals. So can we at least give credit… for the simple fact that Mr. Shapiro and most right-wing commentators I discovered over the years… are extremely open to the idea of debate and dialogue! There’s that pesky 1st amendment again. I committed more of my undivided attention to the substance they preached… accompanied with my own further due diligence… I genuinely found myself aligned with what they had to say vs. opposing views and arguments… depending on the topic!

Today I want to focus primarily on one of my favorite topics… THE FALLACY OF RENT CONTROL. I once again find a policy that does more harm than good… contrary to mainstream belief and rhetoric from politicians. Ben Shapiro, along with the majority of economists across the spectrum, agree that not only does rent control harm landlords, developers, the economic growth of the city and many other spillover issues in which it is applied… but believe it or not… IT ALSO HURTS THE TENANTS and THE AVAILABILITY OF HOUSING all together. The left always preach about rent control as the only solution to rents being too high for tenants and this will solve the homelessness crisis. My research thus far has concluded quite the opposite… rent control coupled with more red tape and regulations… does not lower rents or decrease homelessness… It ironically exacerbates these issues. Richard Wolff, seems to think the government building affordable housing will solve this supply and demand issue… viola… quick fix! Well… allow me to ask Mr. Wolff some questions and reiterate how disastrous affordable housing is and has been! 

I encourage people to go revisit my WALTER WILLIAMS MINIMUM WAGE + MILTON FRIEDMAN WELFARE STATE episodes and try to connect the dots on these policies and then take a look at who’s always pushing for them. Deliberate research… Might raise some eyebrows … for Ben Shapiro… Those are some thick ass eyebrows! Ad hominem aside… he’s a smart little shit. 

I got plenty of references you can explore to form your own opinion on the matter.

Enjoy. Or not.

Yours truly. 

REFERENCES:

Ben Shapiro: Debunked - Rent Control

Richard D Wolff: Youtube - Book: Contending Economic Theories 

Thomas Sowell: Economic Facts & Fallacies

Milton Friedman + Friedrich Hayek: Rent Control Myths & Realities - International Evidence in 6 countries

Henry Hazlitt: Economics in One Lesson

Adam Smith: Wealth of Nations