|
By Joe Mac
April 12, 2008
With all due respect to 76-year-old landlord Mr. Gibbs and his defenders ("Landlord rights defended," The Examiner, April 11), I was not trying to wade into the debate on rent control, subsidizing tenants or the burden put on landlords in San Francisco. The only thing I was referring to in my letter of Apri110 was the notion (which Mr. Gibbs seemed to imply), that he was a step away from "poverty" If you were really worried that you couldn't pay your bills, put food on the table or take care of your family would you: A) at least like to own something (in this case a building) that you could sell, as a last resort, to avoid those hardships, or B) have nothing to sell to avoid those hardships? Also, one thing confuses me. If you own a business, and that business continues to lose money (as so many landlords and their supporters say they do, and I have to believe them), then why on earth don't you get out of that business? I have nothing against making a profit. But there is a huge difference between losing money every year and making a smaller profit than you would like or expect.
Again, all due apologies to Mr. Gibbs. I never meant that he should sell his property and move to Iowa as one letter writer accused me of.
Joe Mac SAN FRANCISCO
Back to Action and Information Alerts 
|
