This morning, as on all mornings, I turned on my phone shortly after my senses were assaulted by the rude stream of consciousness. As on all mornings, the first app I opened was email, and as on all mornings, I reached to delete a string of spam.
But why was this morning different from all other mornings?
On this morning, much of the dreck had already been deleted around three AM, between first and second sleeps.
Did you eat leavened bread, or Matzah?
Neither.
How else was this morning different?
On this morning, I received an email from Dee Dee, the manager at my park in central New York State.
Go on.
Here’s how it read:
Tenants freaked out when you raised rent $20 this year. I can only imagine their feedback in September. [Sad emoji]
I know you are doing what you have to do, but it makes me sad how much it’s costing people to just get by today. Heating bills here have doubled.
Are you seeing the same there?
She wrote this email because the day before, I had told her that lot rents would probably go up by $20 next year. This year, lot rent in that park is $440, plus water. Residents who pay on or before the 5th receive a $20 discount. Lot rents will likely go up to $460/$440 as of 1/1/2023. The $20 increase is equal to 4.5% of current lot rent. Under New York State law, lot rents can be raised by 3% as of right, and up to 6%, if capital expenditures or increased operating costs justify the increase. The inflation rate is 7.5%. Of course, if lot rents are raised by more than 3%, I will justify the increase by reference to actual expenses, but in the current inflationary environment, chances are good that operating costs will increase by more than 4.5%.
After I read Dee Dee’s email, I felt a rant coming on. I counted to ten, did some box breathing, and wrote back:
Nobody is happy when rent goes up, but it has to go up. A $20 increase is less than the inflation rate. That means that a $20 increase is actually a decrease in the cost of rent. My costs, of course, increase by the full inflation rate.
A fair price for a mobile home lot is half the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in town. That is $900 or more. Lot rents in other parks are the same as, or slightly more, than lot rents in our park.
That was the end of our email exchange. In a better world, I would have sent a follow-up:
To finish that thought – one of the causes of the current inflation is the tight job market. There is a shortage of workers. Because of this, for the first time in decades, wages are rising and workers have significant bargaining power with employers. That is a good thing – wages have remained stagnant for a long time, CEO pay has skyrocketed, and gig jobs suck. That said, if a resident receives a $1,000 sign-on bonus and a $2 per hour raise, they can afford to pay an additional $20 a month in lot rent.
To which Dee Dee would reply,
But what about the people who are on fixed incomes?
To which I would reply,
I thought you studied business in college? At 7.5% inflation, $440 in 2022 dollars is $473 in 2023 dollars. That means that if rents go up to $460, I am effectively giving each resident $13 each month!
To which she would reply,
Answer the question, please.
To which I would reply,
Some of the people who collect SSI are young, fit people who are shirking their responsibility to be useful members of society.
To which she would reply,
But what about the old people? You can’t accuse them of shirking. Last year’s SSI COLA was less than the inflation rate, and less than the increase in lot rent.
To which I would reply,
That’s above my pay-grade. People on fixed incomes get screwed in an inflationary environment – same as property owners subject to rent control. I don’t like the policy either, but I don’t make policy. Write a letter to your congressperson. Run for school board. Bother a younger man.
And then we would recline upon some pillows, eat some horseradish, and scream at a young boy who hid the matzah in the DVD player slot.
Nice summary of an almost universal problem. You must have studied Classics.