Editorial: There was a reason Mass. repealed rent control in ’94

The rent is too damn high. But rent control is not the solution.

The idea is back in the spotlight in the Bay State, thanks to advocacy group Homes for All Massachusetts proposing a ballot question that would limit rent increases each year to the cost of living in Massachusetts as measured by the Consumer Price Index, with a cap at 5%.

On paper, rent control would help those struggling to afford a place to live. In reality, those who need a rent-controlled apartment and those who get one are often not on the same economic page.

Take, for example, Zohran Mamdani, the New York state assemblyman, candidate for NYC mayor and current darling of the progressive set. The 33-year-old makes $142,000 a year and has been living in a rent-stabilized $2,300-a-month, one-bedroom apartment in Astoria.