It's not that big a rhetorical jump, though, is it? There's already a lot of anti-landlord rhetoric in this discussion, and historically it heads that way every time.
It's not about punishing, it's about constraining power, and aligning power with particular responsibilities. Is allocating certain powers to certain branches of government "punishing" the other branches? Is requiring certain duties from certain industries "punishing" those industries? I guess we're punishing Norfolk Southern by requiring them to pay for the cleanup in East Palestine, OH.
"If you want us to redistribute money to people in East Palestine so they don't need to move, the bite should equally come out of your and my income and bank accounts, not just Norfolk Southern's."
"If you want us to redistribute money to people in East Palestine so they don't need to move, the bite should equally come out of your and my income and bank accounts, not just Norfolk Southern's."