Here’s why I’m a NO on Prop 10 on the California ballot

Continuing my trip through the California ballot, here’s why I am NO on Prop 10:

1. There’s a reason rent control is used as an example of bad ideas in every economics class, it’s a bad idea. Controlling the price and supply of something just raises prices because it artificially inflates demand. (Anyone who has ever tried to buy a Nintendo product near Christmas has learned this lesson.)
2. In yet another study just published in August, this one from Stanford about the long-term effects of rent control in San Fransisco the authors summarize, “Landlords treated by rent control reduce rental housing supplies by 15%, either by converting to con- dos/TICs, selling to owner occupants, or redeveloping buildings. In the long-run, we find rent control increased the gentrification of San Francisco” (source)
3. But, the single biggest reason I’m against Prop 10 is that it’s a statewide solution to a local problem. I’m a firm believer in local leadership, let individual city councils rollout rent control instead of shoving it down the throat of 40 million people. Could some form of rent control slow gentrification in areas of San Diego? Maybe. But rolling that out statewide is– particularly considering most of the land mass of California is quite rural– unwise and impractical.
   
4. If this passes it’ll just end up in court anyway. I find it highly unlikely that the state supreme court will take away the rights of homeowners statewide.