There’s a reason why media mogul Glenn Beck recently told people “to get the hell” out of Washington state. And here’s another sustainably grown log to put on the net zero faux fire: The governor just signed rent control into law.
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Just wait. In 20 years, lawmakers will have another slap-the-forehead moment when they realize that forcing private landlords into keeping rents down and deferring maintenance will result in crappy housing. And don’t think private parties won’t be tempted to cut corners to make a living.
You’ll note that I said “private landlords” because, as all commies do, they exempted the government and most favored NGOs and charities from the impact of their own terrible law.
And, as an added shock and awe bonus, the commies added an emergency clause to force the law to go into effect immediately and exempt it from being referred by lawmakers to voters or allowed to become an initiative. It’s total and complete one-party domination.
My Aunt Mary and Uncle John often say “I may be old, but I ain’t dumb.” Neither are the voters. They know what’s afoot here and what the results will be: disastrous. Not that they have a chance to vote on it in the future, you understand.
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This is all on top of the new tax increases the one-party-rule legislature just passed. They add another $3,000-$5,000 in taxes per year. But wait, that’s not all! This was after the commie party passed rules limiting debate, in effect shutting out Republicans.
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Under this fantastic idea, rent increases in this state will be “capped” at “7% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 10%, whichever is less.” But the Washington Policy Center reports that’s not all. “Along with the caps, there are new penalties, notification requirements, and restrictions on property owners,” the policy center reported.
People who live in their own duplexes are also exempt from the new state rent controls…for now.
Washington state now joins Oregon and California—the entire West Coast, Messed Coast™—where greedy government pirates run the housing market in the name of helping the homeless by reducing the number of future housing units.
Congratulations, commies, you’ve once again punked yourselves into believing that you’ve suspended the law of supply and demand! You’ll never learn because your schools don’t teach economics.
This afternoon, I saw this come across my feed. Why do you think the landlord is selling their duplex? 👀 https://t.co/z6HDZ9DHDV pic.twitter.com/9TqSwCduC6
— MuthaPNW ❤️🐦🔥 (@muthaPNW) May 11, 2025
WPC notes that the latest real-time, real-world example of how rent control doesn’t work was just shown in Argentina. Let’s see what Javier Milei did by reversing rent control in 2023.
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[W]hen rent control was initially introduced in Argentina around 2019, an estimated 45% of property owners removed their properties from the market to either sell them, or turn them into short term rental units on AirBnB. Rents jumped sharply as the supply dried up far outpacing the rate of inflation. It turns out that when the government controls rents, private property owners don’t want to rent properties.
Here’s the CATO Foundation on the realpolitik of rent control in Argentina:
In 2019, Buenos Aires had 10,000 properties listed on AirBnB; now it’s over 29,500. There have thus been no end of stories about a rental housing crisis, with tenants unable to find rental accommodation, despite the Financial Times reporting late last year that energy use implies ‘one in seven homes’ in Buenos Aires, the capital, laid empty.
But, but, but…what about the homeless? Lack of affordable housing has a near-zero effect on homelessness.
“You can’t take someone that is free and put them in a cage”. I met a homeless man that does not believe in the housing first model. He said it is a money driven program that doesn’t help them the way they need to be helped. He said “it shows they don’t understand us”. He pic.twitter.com/ChMhQRhp3N
— Kevin Dahlgren 🥾 🥾 (@kevinvdahlgren) February 8, 2023
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When the government and their favored non-profit NGOs took over from private charitable groups to create the homeless industrial complex and went to a “housing first” model there was little ROI—if that return on investment is keeping people safe, giving them freedom from flesh-eating disease, and keep them drug free.
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At the same time, the West Coast, Messed Coast™ states reduced penalties for taking drugs on the streets, allowed camping out in parks and by schools, and decriminalized hard drugs, creating a haven for law breaking.
Those aren’t homeless people as much as they are drug tourists with RVs and cellphones.
We’re sure rent control will fix this right away. Oof.
DOGE is finding billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and the Democrats are losing their minds as they realize their gravy train and woke projects are coming to an end.
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