[gattis]

well, the money to pay the rent off comes from somewhere... ultimately taxpayers, which includes these "responsible" people

every time the government alters the fair-market price for things, a transfer of wealth is created. sometimes for the better. but yeah, in every case, someone is getting boned.

at least this is only addressing the past and not creating upside-down incentives going forward. if the state said they were paying off any delinquent rent going forward, then only a fool would pay their rent. although, I'm sure a lot of people are making a mental note for themselves to stop paying rent the next time there is a state of emergency.

[jude-]

> well, the money to pay the rent off comes from somewhere... ultimately taxpayers, which includes these "responsible" people

Well, then this program should be welcome news. Instead of wrecking the lives of millions of people and turning them all out on the street, they instead get to keep their lives and careers and continue to pay taxes. Even if you ignored the incalculable misery a mass-eviction scenario would create, it wouldn't surprise me if paying off everyone's unpaid rent is actually cheaper than mass evictions, when the total cost of handling the resulting mass homelessness is taken into consideration.

[tdeck]

It's worth remembering though that the "fair market" for certain things wouldn't even exist without the government. Land ownership and tenancy aren't natural laws - they're established by a framework of government policies and the ability of the government's employees to use force to restrict property use.