i've been bitching that the migration is reducing the vacancy rate, and that seems to be true, but you go to these open houses, and everybody applying is white.

it seems like it's less that i'm competing with a bunch of migrants, and more that a lot of the housing has been taken off the market, leaving a reduced supply for local residents, who are left to fight over it - with students. i see students...

...which is worse.

i mean, i'm not one to throw around market theory. i think housing is a human right. but, that's supposed to be the argument: equality of opportunity. let everyone loose at each other, and let the market sort it out. again, i don't advocate that, but that's the "liberal" position here - that if i lose, i got outcompeted, and too bad. ok. but, the more i'm experiencing what's happening here, the more i'm realizing that this isn't actually reflective of reality.

if there's tens of thousands of migrants here, and they're reducing vacancy rates, why don't i see them applying for the housing i'm applying for? and, the answer seems to be that they have contacts that are helping them avoid competing on the market for spots - that they have workers helping them get in.

i mean, i see them at the grocery store and on the street and stuff. but, i've been to a lot of open houses, and i don't see them there.

maybe, the way out of this is to go live in a shelter and ask them to find me something. that seems to be the ticket.

otherwise, i'm fighting for substandard housing with dozens of other people...

it's just: can we be consistent? fuck markets. thoroughly. but, it's screwy to argue in favour of equality of opportunity, then game the market in favour of a specific group. i don't really want free markets - i want equality of outcome. but, that's kind of an incoherent position.

are we in favour of free market housing or not?

i'm not.

are you, or are aren't you? pick one, and be consistent about it.

'cause i kind of think i could probably outcompete a couple of these folks, actually.