How do the renovation costs balance against future rents?

Fire codes? Zoning issues? Sure, it’s possible to solve these and many other issues. My brother lived in a condo that used to be a warehouse. And it was really nice. And expensive.

It all comes down to the economics.

I own my home, I have no debt, I have a fat pension, I have money in the bank, I’m retired with health insurance. I was brought up in a liberal democracy.

But I don’t have kids. If I did, THEY wouldn’t have any of those things, no home, no pension, no health insurance, all they’d have is debt.

I’m not being negative. I’ve got it made. Its the future I’m worried about. After I’m gone, THEY (the kids) are going to be sucking canal water. And their glass will always be full of it. To the brim.

Everything the ‘strong middle class with disposable income’ had was pissed away, because all the government programs and policies that made it all possible have been systematically eroded by people who didn’t want to pay their fair share of taxes.

Personally, I don’t care. I’m going to be gone in another 5 or 10 years. But I feel it is my duty as a patriotic citizen who loves his country to warn those youngsters and tell them they have a right to an education, a right to health care, a right to join a union and a right to a decent living if they work hard and play by the rules. We can’t all be coders and entrepreneurs, and you can’t get a haircut on the internet.

If they’re willing to spend their futures doing gig labor, ‘independent contracting’, unpaid internships, and toiling in “right-to-work” shops, then there’s nothing more I can do for them.

I agree fully the majority of that has gone to the wealthy, but the middle class has not been left completely behind. The largest single element that contributes to economic growth in America has long been consumer spending. A strong middle class with disposable income makes everyone wealthier, including the rich.

Clinton, Obama, and now Biden have all talked up growing the economy from the middle out. Biden seems to be really doing it. Wages are finally outpacing inflation for the first time in decades.

Stop being so negative all the time. You’re consistantly seeing the glass half empty. It’s depressing.

Its the widespread implementation of Conservative economic policies that has led to the deterioration of the American economy. Cutting taxes and social welfare programs drove the country into decline–unless you were already rich, then things worked out just fine.

“Nothing is ever achieved without a cost.” Yeah, its called “trickle-down” economics. The cost of improving the lives of the rich has to be born by those who are not.

Addressing the cost of housing that you mentioned, there is a solution. It will actually solve two problems. There is currently a huge surplus of commercial real estate available especially in downtown areas of major cities, as a result of the pandemic. Converting all that empty office space into rentals and condos would ease both the housing shortages and office surpluses in areas like Southern California, New York, and other places. That would drive down rent and home prices. That creates a problem for landlords and for current homeowners, but again, nothing is ever acheived without a cost. If implemented gradually enough to prevent market shocks, the benefits would outweight the drawbacks.