I fully get the issues with landlords in terms of coasting off of other people's labor and in general being parasitic. My question is, the resistance I get when I say that someone shouldn't profit off of another person's need for housing is that they bring up grocery stores/ restaurants profiting off of a person's need for food. And I don't really know how to address or answer that. Just wondering if someone can close the loop for me!
Grocery stories serve a need because people don't live right next to the farm, and it's convenient to buy all your food in one place instead of many.
Landlords are unnecessary middlemen. Most landlords buy property with mortgages just like homeowners. Why should they be able to borrow they money and pay it back to the bank instead of their tenant getting the loan and paying the bank directly?