A REFRESHER ON THE VISION OF THE ANOINTED.

Dear reader, you must understand this.

The "wouldn't it be nice" ratchet has been screwing over people much longer than that: the interstate highways, and urban renewal, and the Great Society, and the story is always the same: self-congratulation over good intentions never compensates for bad policy.  Go, read and understand Thomas Sowell's The Vision of the Anointed.  I'll wait.

With that in mind, let us be amused by the latest from Common Dreams contributor Julia Conley.

Analysts say rents are expected to continue rising this year due to high demand resulting from homebuyers getting priced out of the market, inflation-driven higher maintenance costs for landlords, and a need or desire among some landlords to raise rents following the federal eviction moratorium that was imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the Data for Progress poll, 65% of respondents said they believe the federal government should do more to help tenants, including 82% of Democrats and 61% of independents.

I have to wonder where I missed that part of price theory wherein rents would increase in markets that people were "getting priced out" of; or whether that's an inartful way of saying that some people have the means to bid rents up.

It's rather touching, though, to see anyone relying on the agency that caused the problem itself (printing money, banning evictions) being looked to as the agency to fix the problem.  Oh, I suppose government could fix the problem by going away, but that's too logical for Common Dreams types.

"There are clear steps that President Biden can take to provide relief," said Data for Progress. "Biden must take it upon himself to use his executive authority in order to assist those who need it the most, or we will not only have a cost-of-housing crisis in this country, but a major homelessness crisis as well."

We already have that major homelessness crisis, mostly in cities run by self-styled progressives.  If they're reading Common Dreams, they might not be terribly interested in expanding their appeal: "Politicians in places losing residents might gain from changing their approach, in order that fewer people leave. In the places gaining residents, politicians might also benefit by changing their approach, in order to expand their coalitions."