[steve1011]

Rent control and other government instituted economic controls are what is creating the housing shortages in these popular 'tech' cities. People in general are ignorant of basic economic principals which leads to quotes like the one spouted off by your girlfriend.

[hwstar]

Uh, No. NIMBYism and lack of policies to ensure enough low-income housing is planned and built.

Techies can't rent low-income housing under normal circumstances.

There must be low-income housing available in a city to ensure that there are places for low income folks with jobs to have shelter. Without these people, the city could not function properly.

Rent control may be necessary in extreme situations where there is a lack of housing for low-income families, but only as a last resort.

Disclosure: I'm a landlord and derive part of my income from rental property I own.

[ectoplasm]

I'm not saying it's a good idea, but low income workers can and do commute.