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In Zurich, people with high incomes should also be allowed to live in affordable apartments. The red-green majority in the city parliament removed income restrictions from the rules for occupancy of new apartments created through redevelopment or conversion.
The decision causes outrage: Cüpli socialists! Deviation from housing policy! Client policy! Greens chief financial officer Daniel Leupi said he doesn’t know what’s going on between the Reds and the Greens.
Knee-jerk criticism ignores the foundations of this debate. The SP program says in white and red: “No one should finance the excessive profits of real estate companies.” Nobody, of course, not even the middle class.
Housing is the most important basic need. Speculators who have made a fortune from the housing shortage are acting immorally. That’s why the joint venture wants to take land away from the free market and make as much cheap living space available as possible. This can be done through cooperative developers or through more city apartments coming onto the market at cost of rent.
In a social democratic utopia, no one will have to pay market rent anymore, there will only be cheap apartments. However, low income as an occupancy requirement would prevent the mixing that everyone desires.
What the Red-Greens are doing in Zurich is quite consistent. Anyone who has a problem with this should vote for other parties.
Source: Blick
I am David Miller, a highly experienced news reporter and author for 24 Instant News. I specialize in opinion pieces and have written extensively on current events, politics, social issues, and more. My writing has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC News. I strive to be fair-minded while also producing thought-provoking content that encourages readers to engage with the topics I discuss.
