Stateline: Cities lead bans on algorithmic rent hikes as states lag behind. “Minneapolis on Thursday has become the fourth U.S. city to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software, joining San Francisco, Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, in a growing wave of legislation aimed to protect renters from rental price-gouging. While momentum builds at the city level — with Portland, Oregon; […]
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“Nationwide, nearly half of the 42.5 million renter households in the U.S. are considered rent-burdened, meaning they spend at least a third of their income on housing, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In New York, that rate is even higher, with more than 52 percent of renters meeting that threshold, according to an analysis by the state comptroller last year.”
https://citylimits.org/2025/01/14/hochul-looks-to-ban-algorithm-based-rent-price-fixing-in-new-york/
#Housing #NewYork #AlgorithmicPricing
City Limits · Hochul Looks to Ban Algorithm-Based Rent Price Fixing in New YorkHochul is expected to announce the proposal in her State of the State speech Tuesday, a week after the U.S. Justice Department sued six of the country's biggest landlords for allegedly using "anticompetitive pricing algorithms" to set rents.
Continued thread
U.S. DoJ Sues U.S. Landlords re: Rental Market Price-Fixing
https://www.propublica.org/article/justice-department-sues-landlords-alleged-price-fixing-realpage-rent
* use RealPage pricing software to collude/raise rents
RealPage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealPage
* Am. prop. management software
* owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo
* algorithmic rent setting/antitrust violations/price fixing
#AffordableHousing #rentals #ShortTermRentals
#corporations #PrivateEquity #profiteering #inflation
#RealPage #ThomaBravo #AlgorithmicPricing #antitrust
#HumanRights #homelessness
ProPublicaDOJ Sues Six Large Landlords in Effort to Stop Alleged Price-Fixing in Rental Markets
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ProPublica
[thread 2/x] affordable housing | private equity, corporations, corporate greed, inflation, profiteering
parent: https://mastodon.social/@persagen/110543876769745739
#AffordableHousing #rentals #ShortTermRentals #Airbnb
#corporations #PrivateEquity #profiteering #CorporateGreed #inflation #libertarianism #billionaires
#RealPage #ThomaBravo #AlgorithmicPricing #antitrust
#HumanRights #homelessness
MastodonVictoria Stuart 🇨🇦 🏳️⚧️ (@persagen@mastodon.social)[thread 1/x] affordable housing | private equity/algorithmic pricing | RealPage
[2/x] https://mastodon.social/@persagen/113799058736327577
Airbnb, short-term rentals decimated housing in Canada
https://ricochet.media/en/3965/how-airbnb-and-short-term-rentals-have-decimated-housing-in-canada
* 2022 study: 31,000 homes converted to short-term rentals in Canada
#AffordableHousing #rentals #ShortTermRentals #Airbnb
#corporations #PrivateEquity #profiteering #CorporateGreed #inflation #libertarianism #billionaires
#RealPage #ThomaBravo #AlgorithmicPricing #antitrust
#HumanRights #homelessness
Ars Technica: US sues six of the biggest landlords over “algorithmic pricing schemes”. “The US Justice Department today announced it filed an antitrust lawsuit against ‘six of the nation’s largest landlords for participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.’… The US previously sued RealPage, a software maker accused of helping landlords collectively set prices by […]
ResearchBuzz: Firehose | Individual posts from ResearchBuzz · Ars Technica: US sues six of the biggest landlords over “algorithmic pricing schemes” | ResearchBuzz: Firehose
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Prev. unseen photos of Prince William with his mother Diana visiting homeless charity
https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/previously-unseen-photos-of-prince-william-with-his-mother-diana-visiting-homeless-charity-released-1.7089935
* Prince William opens up about how powerful childhood experience with his brother, late mother helped shape his work in combating homelessness
* forthcoming documentary: “Prince William: We Can End Homelessness"
CTVNews · Previously unseen photos of Prince William with his mother Diana visiting homeless charity releasedPrince William has opened up about how a powerful childhood experience with his brother and late mother helped shape his work in combatting homelessness.
Continued thread
[Canada] Monthly food bank use soars to record 2M, driven by cost of groceries/housing
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/monthly-food-bank-use-soars-to-record-2-million-driven-by-cost-of-groceries-housing-1.7089001
* Food Banks Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Banks_Canada
* food bank use: 2M+ visits March 2024
* double monthly visits 5 y ago in March 2019
* 6% above 2023's record-breaking #
HungerCount 2024
https://fbcblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wordpress/2024/10/hungercount-2024-en.pdf
CTVNews · Monthly food bank use soars to record 2 million, driven by cost of groceries, housingCanada's reliance on food banks has soared to a grim new milestone, according to data from Food Banks Canada.
Continued thread
Greedflation: Corporate Profits Are the Driver of High Prices
https://msmagazine.com/2024/10/17/inflation-high-prices-corporate-profits
* corporations continue to rake in the profits at consumers’ expense
Ms. Magazine · Greedflation: Corporate Profits Are the Driver of High PricesDepending on who’s doing the talking, inflation can be blamed on President Joe Biden or on his predecessor, Donald Trump. But one—and perhaps the greatest—driver of higher prices lies under
Continued thread
Billions of liters of Canadian milk discarded in last 12 years
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/billions-of-litres-of-canadian-milk-were-discarded-in-the-last-12-years-research-1.7075470
COMMENT: yet here in Vancouver (B.C., Canada)
milk $4.78/2L
No-Name butter $5.88/lb
eggs $4.17/doz
Canadian Dairy Commission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Dairy_Commission
* regulates, inflates dairy prices
Images source: NoFrills.ca 2024-Oct-16
Continued thread
Uber started using 'algorithmic pricing' in Canada. Is that a good or bad thing?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/uber-algorithmic-pricing-canada-1.7350399
"Uber has found a way to take more money from us," said George Wedge, an Uber driver in Toronto.
* worries AI-based pay model will mean lower wages for drivers. higher fares for riders
#Uber #UpfrontOffers #UpfrontPayment #AI #AlgorithmicPricing #DynamicPricing #corporations #inflation #PriceGouging #consumerism #optimization#CostFunction #LossFunction
CBCUber started using 'algorithmic pricing' in Canada. Is that a good or bad thing? | CBC NewsUber rolled out a new pay model this week in Ontario, where an AI-powered algorithm determines what drivers earn beyond the distance and duration of each ride. The new pay was launched in B.C. last month and has been used in the U.S. for two years, where worker advocates and drivers say it's a bad deal for them that also hurts consumers.
Continued thread
Food banks face surge in demand
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/food-banks-continue-to-face-a-surge-in-demand-1.7072793
* +17% vs last yr: Fredericton NB
* +60% vs last yr: food bank users, Mississauga ON
* wages don't keep up w. the cost of rent, food
* Food Banks Canada: 1.9+M visits to food bank in Canada ea. mo.
* 1/3 of those visits = children
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Banks_Canada
https://foodbankscanada.ca
CTVNews · Food banks continue to face a surge in demandAs millions of Canadians head into the Thanksgiving weekend, food banks across the country continue to see a surge in demand.
Continued thread
People turning to non-profit grocery store as food costs surge
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/more-people-turning-to-non-profit-grocery-store-as-food-costs-surge-1.7034987
* Vancouver non-profit Quest grocery store
* provides healthy/affordable food to those w. low incomes
* 50% customers make <$24k/yr
* British Columbians @ poverty line$40k/yr spend 40% income on groceries
Quest Outreach Society: https://www.questoutreach.org/our-story
#QuestOutreach
#greedflation #shrinkflation #profiteering #capitalism #PriceFixing #AlgorithmicPricing #poverty #FoodSecurity
#Canada #Sobeys #Loblaws
British Columbia · More people turning to non-profit grocery store as food costs surgeMore customers have been shopping the shelves of Vancouver's Quest grocery store.
Continued thread
Canada Bread fined $50M for role in bread price-fixing scandal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Bread
* Canada Bread Co. fined $50M
* pled guilty to criminal price-fixing
* inflated wholesale price of bread in Canada
* Competition Bureau of Canada: highest price-fixing fine ever imposed by a Canadian court
#inflation #greedflation #shrinkflation #profiteering #corporations #PriceFixing #AlgorithmicPricing #CorporateGreed #poverty #FoodSecurity
#Canada #Sobeys #Loblaw #Loblaws #EmpireCo #CanadaBread
en.wikipedia.orgCanada Bread - Wikipedia
Continued thread
[Canada] Sobeys parent company Empire reports $207.8M Q1 profit, sales up from year ago
https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/sobeys-parent-company-empire-reports-207-8m-q1-profit-sales-up-from-year-ago-1.7035423
[USA] Kroger’s Year-to-Date Earnings Double While Pushing for Merger That Will Raise Food Prices
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/krogers-year-to-date-earnings-double-while-pushing-for-merger-that-will-raise-food-prices
#inflation #greedflation #shrinkflation #profiteering #corporations #PriceFixing #AlgorithmicPricing #CorporateGreed #poverty #FoodSecurity
#Canada #Sobeys #Loblaw #Loblaws #EmpireCo
#USA #Krogers
CTVNews · Sobeys parent company Empire reports $207.8M Q1 profit, sales up from year agoEmpire Co. Ltd. says it earned $207.8 million in its latest quarter, down from $261 million a year ago as its sales edged higher.
Continued thread
Anger over concert dynamic pricing
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-cheat-sheet-sep8-1.7315383
* Britain's competition watchdog, Competition & Markets Authority investigating Ticketmaster over sale of Oasis tickets
* dynamic pricing hiked cost to fans at last minute
* most thought they would pay advertised £148.50 ($264 CDN); ended up paying £355.20 ($632)
CBCAnger over concert 'dynamic pricing'; Inside Montreal's new supermall: CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet | CBC NewsCBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need from the week.
Continued thread
/1
Capitalist response
Why Oasis fans should welcome price gouging 
There are worse things in life than paying a fair price
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/09/05/why-oasis-fans-should-welcome-price-gouging
* non-paywalled: https://archive.fo/w4ojO
The Economist · Why Oasis fans should welcome price gouging
Continued thread
U.K. competition watchdog probing use of 'dynamic pricing' in Oasis ticket debacle
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/oasis-uk-watchdog-1.7314047
* surging prices during ticket sales
* businesses that use dynamic pricing/complex pricing need to be transparent about prices & not mislead customers
* Ticketmaster, official ticketing partner, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment
CBCU.K. competition watchdog probing use of 'dynamic pricing' in Oasis ticket debacle | CBC NewsThe U.K. competition watchdog said on Thursday it was looking into the use of dynamic pricing in the Aug. 31 Oasis concert ticket sale. The move comes after surging prices during the ticket sale caused an uproar among fans.
[thread] algorithmic pricing, dynamic pricing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_pricing
* automatically setting price to maximize seller's profits
[thread] affordable housing | private equity, corporations, corporate greed, inflation, profiteering
https://mastodon.social/@persagen/110543876769745739
Canadian mega landlord Dream Unlimited using AI pricing to massively hike rents
https://mastodon.social/@persagen/113080600389935351
en.wikipedia.orgAlgorithmic pricing - Wikipedia
Continued thread
Toronto tenants fight rent increase, argue landlord QMW Corporation using it to cover redevelopment costs
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tenants-fight-agi-cover-cost-report-sell-develop-bu-1.7313349
* tenants fighting above-guideline rent increase
* 1/2 of it covering environmental assessment
* typically used to help landlord sell/redevelop property
* claim: landlord QMW Corporation using AI to recover costs associated w. future redevelopment
CBCToronto tenants fight rent increase, argue landlord is partially using it to cover redevelopment costs | CBC NewsTenants in a Toronto apartment complex are fighting an above-guideline increase (AGI) to their rent because nearly half of the expenses that the increase is supposed to cover stem from an environmental assessment of the land generally used to help sell or redevelop property.
Continued thread
Canadian mega landlord Dream Unlimited using AI pricing to massively hike rents
https://breachmedia.ca/canadian-mega-landlord-ai-pricing-scheme-hikes-rents
* algorithmic pricing
*gives landlords ability to coordinate rent hikes
* used by Canadian developer Dream Unlimited ($25B assets)
Dream Unlimited: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Unlimited#2023-2024_Rent_Strikes
Rent strikes in Toronto: https://mastodon.social/@persagen/112939264838100221
The Breach · Canadian mega landlord using AI ‘pricing scheme’ as it massively hikes rents ⋆ The BreachSoftware the U.S. government says is illegal gives landlords ability to coordinate rent hikes. Now it’s being used in Canada by developer Dream Unlimited