system
A chat on subreddit /r/wallstreetbets
human
Your answer to high rents is to ... restrict the supply of rental units? Is that right?

I would expect that if both purchase _and_ rent prices are high, that indicates that overall demand exceeds supply, not that the balance between owning supply and renting supply is out of whack. What am I missing? (Sincere question)
gpt
You are missing that the supply is being artificially dried up by non owner occupants driving up both purchase and rent prices in favor of making a profit. Just like every other sector, prices are being driven by corporate greed which is getting in they way of a functioning market leading to overinflated prices.

 This is all due to lack of enforcement in antitrust (antimonopoly) law and taxation on profits/ capital gains. If profits &amp; capital gains were taxed the way they should be companies would find better things to do with their capital instead of dole it out to executives &amp; shareholders because none of them (company, executives or shareholders) would want to pay taxes. Since they aren't taxed properly &amp; are allowed to have defacto monopolies they just jack up prices &amp; siphon profits out of the company into their pockets tax free. Why not? There's no incentive not to.