13 July 2012 · 1 note

“

For more than a year now, New York City has been enforcing a new state law that makes it illegal for homeowners like Hogan to rent out their house or apartment for less than a month. All across the city, police raids have shut down hundreds of similar informal bed-and-breakfast establishments, with nearly 1,900 different violations issued in under twelve months. Often, the fees associated with the citations stretch into tens of thousands of dollars. Hogan was threatened with a $25,000 fine—all for marketing the empty rooms in his house.

Short-term vacation rentals have existed for years with little attempt by local governments to stamp them out. But thanks to the Internet, an industry that was once small and underground has, in a few short years, exploded into a multibillion-dollar worldwide business. Airbnb, an Internet booking engine launched in 2008, connects more than a million renters and hosts in 192 countries. Homeowners, many of them left jobless by the economic downturn, have increasingly turned to the practice as a relatively secure, entrepreneurial way to leverage the value of their most significant asset.

”

- The Washington Monthly

A pretty puzzle for Republicans. On the one hand, they are ostensibly for personal rights, and doing what you want with your property (one need look no further than the “Stand Your Ground” law). On the other hand, it’s anti-big business. Guess which side they’ll be on.

(Source: washingtonmonthly.com)

  1. sheldon-targaryen reblogged this from piya
  2. piya posted this