RE: We should be talking about rising rents rather than rising energy prices...

I wouldn't lay it solely at the feet of capitalism. Some of the reason why housing is expensive is government regulation. Here in Texas, it was possible to buy undeveloped plots of land to build a house outside of city limits. These houses would never have been allowed within the city limits. But, it's what people could afford. As cities, looking to expand their tax base, expanded into surrounding areas, they would have to invest in providing utilities to these neighborhoods. That is water and sewage. They got fed up with having to incur the expense for growing their tax base, so they went to the legislature and had a law passed that required all new developments to include water and sewage. This dramatically increased the price of new plots to where the people who would have owned a home could no longer afford it.

In helping people out of "squalid conditions", the government made it more difficult to rise out of poverty.

Capitalism excels in its indifference to any individual's plight. However, the good intentions of governments often pave the road to hell for the very people they aim to help.

I grew up in homes with dirt floors and pit toilets. They were home despite the cold winters and hot summers. I don't feel I suffered any indignity or inhumane conditions. My parents could afford to buy undeveloped land at flat monthly payments for 20 years compared to having to rent "acceptable housing" that would raise rent every year.

Many people would be content to live in sub-standard housing given that government often sets the standards too high to be economical or practical. I think this is a large contributor to homelessness. There is no possibility of living anywhere between homeless and minimal standards. You either have £1100 per month, or you live on the street. Sure, we're raising the living standard. But, we're doing it on the backs of the poor.

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