Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1950-03-03
Rent Decontrol May
Help Bring Economic
ailspin
BY Bradford v. Carter
LPA COlumnist

w lion families now living in dwellings whose
rents are controlled by federal law had better
start using little political action. Effective
enforcement of those rent controls, and their
continuation after June are both to be de-
control are now before the state legislatures
Virginia passed a decontrol law last week.
City councils in many key places have local
decontrol bills and resolutions pending.
The extremely powerful real estate lobby
Is expected to swing into action in Washing
ton soon Housing Expediter Tighe Woods
the rent control administrator, and President
Truman sent up to Congrtss a request for
funds to carry the rent control agency through
until the end of June. Last year, the real estate
men succeeded in getting puny amount voted
for rent control; Sen. Paul Douglas ID, Ill)
extracted a promise that Truman could come
back for more this spring
So, the first problem will be TO keep the
rent agency from dying of malnutrition. AL
ready, its activities are seriously curtailed
When you read about the request for more
rent control money, you'd better get in touch
with your Senators and Congressman, and tell
them you care about how they vote on this
appropriation.
Then, there's marked lack Of enthusiasm
here, even among some Administration stall
worths, over continuing even the present weak
federal law for another year after 1t expires,
at the end of June. However, President Tru-
man has made it clear that he's pressing for
extension. And Woods is pointing to the dis
astrous experiences in several big cities that
have voted locally to lift controls.
The largest such city, Dallas, saw spec
tacular rent bosts which hit the lowest-income
families hardest, and without any delay at ALL
About two-t thirds of the families whose rentals
had previously been kept under ceilings suf-
fered rent bosts averaging 35 per cent Unions
were flooded with cases of members who were
subjected to genuine hardships because of the
landlords greed
It's not true, the federal rent control Off
cials point out, that landlords have to lose
single cent because of rent control. The law
provides that in case of hardship, the land
lord can get an increase approved by submitting
his cost figures to the local rent control office
There have been more than two million units
on which such boosts have been granted. And
for another 100000 units, rent boards
have granted area-Wide increases based on
general cost increases such as tax rate boosts.
There is still a shortage of rental housing
units. And 1t is most acute for the lower
new apartments have been built since the
war. If you can pay S100 a month for an "ef-
ficiency" apartment, and live in one of the
cities in the northeastern area, you'll prob
ably get a break. But that's hardly reason
for lifting federal rent controls. Also, OF
course, newly-built rental housing isn't sub
tect to rent control anyway.
In the face of four million unemployed.
and with the outlook for the second half Of
1850 clouded by all kinds of shifting economic
factors that might throw the economy into
tailspin, the rent control law looks more and
more like one of the key measures in the
Fair Deal program to keep purchasing power
high, and to expand, rather than to contract,
our whole economic activity
As Democratic Natl Chairman Bill Boyle
has observed Most city dwellers divide their
essential expenditures into food, clothing and
shelter. If rent controls were to be discon-
tinued before the end of the housing shortage,
rents would skyrocket, The city dwellers
would have to pay more for rent and would
have less to spend on food and clothing. This
means that the family which is just getting
by now would have to cut food and clothing
expenditures drastically IL its rent were in
creased" Boyle suggests that Congressman
from rural areas where farmers are feeling
the pinch of declining income might well
think twice about election day next Novem-
ber, before they decide that their vote on rent
control funds and extension is inconse-
quentical.
There will be a lot of voters-city and
rural who will translate into bread-and-
butter terms those two key votes in the COM
ing months.
outmoded electoral college would be dropped
State electoral votes, instead of going in bloc
to the candidate getting the most woes in each