r/boringdystopia 1d ago

Dystopian Realities 📍 Squeezed by high prices, a growing number of Americans find shelter in long-term motels

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/squeezed-high-prices-growing-number-americans-find-shelter-long-term-m-rcna184166
200 Upvotes

9 comments sorted by

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68

u/pizzapartypandas 1d ago

Reminds me of those retirees that live on cruise ships because it's cheaper than senior living centers.

30

u/ForGrateJustice 1d ago

A lot of those geriatrics do so because there's next to no funeral costs. You get chucked into a freezer and sent to a coroner in the next port if you pass on board.

29

u/CautionarySnail 1d ago

This has been how many homeless people are temporarily housed by the state for years. It really shows the squeeze happening to working, well people that they’re being forced into these situations by landlord greed.

Meanwhile, this causes the agencies who previous often depended on these rooms for stable places while they worked out temporary homeless situations (such as families affected by fires, abuse situations, etc) are going to be squeezed out as well.

This housing market no longer is working at all for the working poor.

16

u/tagmezas 1d ago

The housing market isn't supposed to work for the homeless, working poor, middle class, or even upper midddle class. The housing market exists to provide maximum profit at all costs to shareholders, period, full stop.

This is a free market. That's what businesses in free markets do, consolidate market share and squash competition. Only in this specific market, we as everyday people are now considered the "competition" to be squashed.

If you own a home, thats rent a company cannot charge, therefore you are hurting their bottom line. These companies do not exist to serve us. They barely serve themselves or their own employees. They serve the market, just like the rest of us.

4

u/CautionarySnail 20h ago

This is where you and I have different opinions on the purpose of society and how we handle real estate.

Because shareholders aren’t local, they don’t have to suffer the problems they cause. They are the modern version of Vikings, burning the villages and killing as they loot all worth taking. Making a profit doesn’t require constant strip-mining to still be a highly successful return.

By that logic, every company should just outright murder people the second they can make a penny of profit doing so.

Personally, I want to live in a functional society, and that model is the exact opposite. Do you want to live in that world?

Might as well go back to being serfs if that’s your gold standard. The serfs had better benefits and more holidays.

6

u/tagmezas 20h ago

I am 100% on your side. Society should operate that way. I am a pessimist who assumes it doesn't, sadly through experience. I couldn't agree more with your view, truly. Fuck capitalism, that's my take.

6

u/PracticalSolution352 1d ago

Oh. Cool. We are bring back feudal dosshouses. Poor people with not secure housing would pay to sleep the night.

3

u/Lighthouseamour 1d ago

I loved in a motel as a child in the 80’s. It had a mini fridge and a microwave.