Penalizing the Producers is No Good

In the process of looking for a new place to live, I contacted a local apartment complex yesterday afternoon to inquire about rates and vacancies. They first quoted me a rate of $250/mo. with no deposit, and said they were not Section 8 housing (gov't assistance housing where many of my clients live, and hence, where the danger of death by gunshot wound is sunstantially higher than where I live now). I wondered what the catch was, and they did not disappoint. The rental rate was either $250/mo. OR 30 percent of your gross income, whichever is higher. That is absolutely ridiculous because it penalizes me for success and for making responsible choices in my life. Because I am not on government assistance and don't have a brood of kids I can't support, my rental rate would be somewhere north of 400 percent higher than someone who is in such a situation. On top of that, as an attorney, I am far more statistically likely to be a responsible tenant, a lower credit risk, and a non-existent crime risk.

And for that, I would get the screws put to me for a ridiculous premium that is pure profit for the owners. I know it would be pure profit because if the owners could not turn a profit charging the $250 a month rate, they would not be able to stay in business. This is discouraging example #4,812 of how our ever-increasing welfare state of a country actually encourages laziness and government dependency, and I don't like it a bit...suffice it to say I won't be living there or any place like it, ever.