[zamfi]

I suspect some feel it's progressive in one particular sense, that it appears to allocate a scarce resource (housing -- but why's it scarce in the first place?) on the basis of something other than wealth: tenure (e.g., prop 13, rent control's caps on rent increases), involuntary--or voluntary--penury (e.g., section 8, affordable housing mandates), or some other notion of "deserving" (e.g., subsidies for housing for teachers, paramedics, etc.).

[pixelatedindex]

If you aren’t breaking down the status quo and moving toward something more equitable, in what way is it progressive? I don’t believe “feel good” equates to progressive - maybe more affirmative? As a renter of course I prefer areas that have rent control, but I understand that it’s not smart economic policy. Zoning isn’t smart economic policy either but I feel like it gets far more flak because it benefits the haves way more than the have-nots.

[zamfi]

I didn't use the phrase "feel good" but rent control can totally be justified on equity grounds: a policy that protects the vulnerable from (effectively) eviction by "market forces" (read: rising rents) over which they have no control.

That's not wrong, in the most direct sense rent control policies are doing that, but it's not the whole story either (as it sounds like you know).