The Rental Crisis

 

Posted May 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

I reported how BlackRock is now the largest landlord in the US. Institutions have purchased hundreds of billions in real estate across the nation and have no plans to sell because rentals are a lucrative venture. Inventory is at a historic low and people simply cannot find a place to live if they need to relocate. Rental price gouging has reached astronomical levels and demand far outweighs supply.

There are eight prospective renters for each available apartment in the US, and the average occupancy rate is 94.2%. Of those occupied leases, 60.7% chose to renew. New housing grew by a measly 0.43% as building costs have increased substantially. The high-density state of New Jersey has become the most competitive real estate market in the US. This is particularly true for the northern part of the state, which is no surprise as the average cost for rent in NYC is $5,186 monthly. That price tag makes places like Los Angeles look cheap, with an average rental price of $2,600. Miami, the new Wall Street of the south, has become the second most competitive market in the US. Apartments in Miami-Dade County last an average of 33 days on the market if a unit even becomes available.

Housing is completely unaffordable and people with good-paying jobs are struggling to find a place to live if they do not already own. Purchasing property was once the smart financial choice, but that is out of reach for the average person. In fact, over three million Americans earning over $150,000 annually still choose to rent as there is simply no alternative at this time.

Rentals across America are almost at total capacity. The typical person locks in a 12-month lease, but the landlord (in most states) can raise the price at the end of that term and there are little protections for residents. In fairness to the landlords, their costs have increased substantially as well in terms of taxes, insurance, and maintenance. The price of a renewal increase is typically lower than what it would cost to relocate, aiding in the decision for the majority to renew their leases.

Where I live, we also face seasonal rental price gauging. Off-season one-bedrooms in the Tampa Bay area are over $2,000 monthly and rising. But once the “snow birds” return during the winter months, prices increase substantially. There is a 13% tax here on short-term rentals as well, but finding a full 12-month lease is increasingly difficult.

Adding to this crisis is the mass influx of migrants as cities across the nation develop ways to house tens of thousands of people at the expense of taxpaying citizens. Landlords typically require renters to earn 3X the monthly rental price as well, forcing many to leave the cities and more desirable areas even if they earn a good living.

Shelter costs are unsustainably high for both buyers and renters. People cannot find a place to live. Those who rent often become stuck in a cycle of renting perpetually, unable to save as all their income goes toward shelter.

Theories

 Was Bill Gates using Epstein to Blackmail People?

Posted May 7, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

 

 

I have said before, Epstein was really creating a sophisticated operation for blackmail. Wall Street used Elliot Spritzer to take down AIG head Hank Greenberg because he refused to allow AIG to issue guarantees for Goldman Sachs’ mortgage-backed securities. They used Elliot Spitzer as the DA of NY to remove Hank Greenberg from AIG which opened the door for the 2007-2009 Crash. Removing Hank Greenberg made the whole Mortgage-Backed CDO Lending possible and the collapse of the Great Financial Crisis. Spitzer was fed info I believe to remove Greenberg by Goldman Sachs. It was Goldman who then sold the idea to AIG when Greenberg was removed. 

Spitzer was just a pawn. He thought he was really cleaning up Wall Street. Then when Spitzer turned on Wall Street, guess what? The Patriot Act ordering banks to report anything suspicious turned up checks Spitzer wrote to a hooker. So the Terrorist laws were then used to get rid of Spitzer to save Wall Street Investment Bankers.

Do you also remember the former head of the IMF who also stood in the way of the agenda to remove countries from SWIFT if they did not hand over all people with accounts? Dominique Strauss-Kahn became a target when he was the IMF chief and began to comment critically on the role of the world financial system. I was personally invited to Washington where Edmond Safra of Republic National Bank paid for the IMF dinner that rented the entire National Gallery. I was invited to demonstrate to me how the NY Investment bankers had the IMF in their pocket.

Strauss-Kahn was conveniently sent a maid to create a sex scandal to shut him up when he saw the corruption in the IMF. They removed him under false accusations and cleared the way for the IMF to become a tool of the bankers and the Neocons. That is how the whole Long-Term Capital Management crisis developed because they bribed the IMF to keep the loans going to Russia so they could buy their bonds by paying outrageous amounts of money. 

 

 

Anna Chapman was a Russian Spy caught in New York City. She was swapped for American spies in 2010 and made headlines in New York. She was stunningly beautiful as well as stunningly successful. Well if you are going to betray secrets, this is far better than the rubber hose treatment. Anna showed up in Ukraine to train with the soldiers leading the rebellion. She has become known as Vladimir Putin’s weapon of mass distraction.

Anyone who thinks that Epstein was just into young girls and committed suicide probably believes Washington really cares about them as well. I seriously doubt that any guy over 40 could possibly tell the difference between a 16/17-year-old and an 18-year-old. So why fool around with a 17-year-old when an 18-year-old would be legal? If I could not tell the difference just by looking, then what would be the thrill? The answer is obviously blackmail.

Take Prince Andrew whose life has been destroyed. Did you know that had he had sex with that girl in London, it would be legal? From the age of 16, a person is considered to be able to give consent to all sexual activity with other people aged 16 or over. The Legal age is 16 in most countries. So why did Epstein create an island in the USA where the legal age is the highest?  Something is just not right.

Were Epstein’s targets even told they were under 18? Did getting this honey trap to entangle people force them to do as he directed? So let’s just be real for a second. Maxwell is in prison for soliciting girls but not anyone they supposedly had sex with. So where are the customers to prove that illegal sex even took place? Ah! Conspiracy is a thought crime that is as corrupt as a $3 bill. You do not have to actually carry out a crime, you merely need to intend. So they conveniently never have to produce all the people they targeted in this honey trap scheme.

It seems that this was a service that people hired him to entrap people and then blackmail them into doing whatever they desired.