The “haves” begrudging the “have-nots” over government assistance is as old as American politics itself.
In recent years, the debate over income disparity intensified as those lucky enough to own their homes pocketed massive (but sometimes unrealized) gains, while those who rented often found it hard just to make ends meet.
COVID-19 exposed new fissures in the income inequality gap as 12 months of pandemic upheaval brought disproportionate pain across society. The latest grist for social media is a discussion about when it’s appropriate to pull the plug on the government’s pandemic relief program.
Some say the unemployment benefits scheduled to last until September are discouraging workers from reentering the work force, and that it’s time for the seemingly endless government protections to end. Others applaud the free cash as an effective pump-priming tool that has helped keep the economy afloat.
Coupled with the debate comes Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to pay off all the state’s past-due rent in an apparent win-win situation that allows renters to escape the albatross of debt while landlords are made whole again. The rental assistance plan will work in conjunction with Tuesday’s vote by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to extend a moratorium on rental evictions through September.
Renters in western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties have had a tough hill to climb, and we don’t begrudge county and state governments using their massive relief dollars to help those who are not lucky enough to be homeowners keep a roof over their head.
The median list price for a Conejo Valley home is $850,000, a number out of reach for many would-be millennial buyers. In Agoura Hills, the median listing is $1.1 million, in Calabasas it’s $1.8 million and in Westlake Village it’s $1.4 million. So they rent.
Roughly one-quarter of all Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park residents are renters. The small, two-bedone bath lease in these communities today costs well above $2,500 a month and, under the governor’s plan, a tenant who struggled to make payments during the pandemic will see their debt erased. The rent relief will restore economic equilibrium and expedite the recovery, proponents of the plan say. A major eviction crises will be averted.
But those who skimped and saved and dipped into their savings in order to stay current on their rent are understandably upset that some fellow lessees are getting a free pass. It is a bit galling—similar to college loan forgiveness and the criticism against that grand proposal.
“Should I not pay my rent?”
“Where’s my handout?”
We understand some aren’t happy, but look at it this way: Taxpayer dollars are being put to work in a way that will help wipe the slate clean and bring closure to the pandemic.
The quicker we can do that, the better.