| Danielle, It's a story that plays out from industry to industry to industry. From nursing homes to retail outfits to manufactured-housing communities and beyond, we see a similar pattern. Private equity companies or Wall Street investors swoop in. They buy a business. They jack up prices and reduce services, sucking out value in the name of short-term profits. And then they reap the rewards — leaving damage and destruction in their wake as they move along to the next victim. It's happened to newspapers like the Denver Post. It's happened to retailers like Toys R Us and ShopKo. And it's happening all over our housing market. Let's zoom in on that piece. Last week, I visited Attleboro, Massachusetts, and heard from residents of manufactured-home parks that have been caught up in this pattern. They said rents have increased by hundreds of dollars — some by 75%. Many of the residents are seniors living on fixed incomes. They shouldn't have to choose between buying groceries, filling prescriptions, or paying rent. But they aren't alone. Let me get wonky for a minute. Manufactured (or "mobile") homes have been a critical avenue to affordable housing for millions of Americans. A few decades ago, these communities were generally owned by mom-and-pop businesses. But the private equity industry saw an opportunity. Residents of manufactured home communities often own their own homes but not the land underneath. And since most of these homes aren't actually mobile, Wall Street vultures realized that families were effectively stuck in place — sitting ducks. They could buy the community, raise rents, save themselves money by refusing to make home repairs, and squeeze every possible penny out of the residents. Nobody should be surprised that these investors are doing this to pad their own profits. Private equity firms get rich by loading companies and real estate they buy with debt, then stripping out all the assets, extracting whatever value they can, and charging exorbitant fees. That is the business model. And let's call this what it is: legalized looting. Looting that makes a handful of Wall Street managers very rich while costing thousands of people their jobs, putting valuable companies out of business, and hurting communities across the country. So while I keep fighting to create more affordable housing in Massachusetts and around the country, I'll also keep working to protect already-existing housing from corporate investors who just want to wring more profits out of families. And I'll keep pushing to tackle this economy-wide problem. I have a plan to stop these investors from looting companies and leaving communities high and dry — including by putting private equity firms on the hook for the debts of companies they buy. That way, they're responsible for the downside of their investments so that they only make money if the companies they control flourish. This is part of how we put our government on the side of working people. I work for families, not powerful special interests, so I don't take campaign contributions from private equity executives. And I'm able to stay in this fight because of grassroots supporters like you, Danielle. If it makes sense for you right now, can you pitch in $28 or any amount to support our re-election campaign and grow our grassroots movement for bold, systemic reform? Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
No comments:
Post a Comment