<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>poof131</author><text>Agree 100%.&lt;p&gt;It’s frowned upon to talk about this as a generational thing, but it very much is.  Debt is the instrument to have now and pay later, and the debt burden is rampant everywhere.  Modern economics has essentially disregarded the role of debt in the economy.[1]  All our government institutions seem hell bent on maintaining asset prices at any cost.[2]  There’s no sensible plan to even remotely reign in government debt.  The world’s stuck at zero percent interest rates, handing out money to the politically connected, and growth is still anemic.  Even at low rates people can hardly afford to buy anything since asset prices are so inflated.&lt;p&gt;I would like to believe we can deal with this in a reasonable fashion, but am skeptical.  As can already be seen by the U.S. elections and elsewhere, populism is rearing it’s head on both the left and the right.  It feels like a storm is on the horizon and I only hope it doesn’t devolve into war.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;blogs.lse.ac.uk&amp;#x2F;politicsandpolicy&amp;#x2F;ignoring-the-role-of-private-debt-in-an-economy-is-like-driving-without-accounting-for-your-blind-spot&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;blogs.lse.ac.uk&amp;#x2F;politicsandpolicy&amp;#x2F;ignoring-the-role-o...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2] &lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;blogs.lse.ac.uk&amp;#x2F;politicsandpolicy&amp;#x2F;ignoring-the-role-of-private-debt-in-an-economy-is-like-driving-without-accounting-for-your-blind-spot&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;blogs.lse.ac.uk&amp;#x2F;politicsandpolicy&amp;#x2F;ignoring-the-role-o...&lt;/a&gt;</text><parent_chain><item><author>spangry</author><text>Same problem in Australia. Just to define some terms for non-Australian folk:&lt;p&gt;- Negative gearing: A deduction received on net rental income losses (e.g. I&amp;#x27;m a landlord who pays $100 in loan interest, receives $60 in rent, so I claim a tax deduction of $40)&lt;p&gt;- Capital gains: I buy a house worth $100,000. A few years later I sell it for $260,000. I&amp;#x27;ve made a capital gain of $160,000.&lt;p&gt;The under 30s age group receive:&lt;p&gt;- 1% of total negative gearing tax benefits, whereas the 50+ age group receive 55% (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_11535-Feb.-16-08.09.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;p&gt;- 2% of capital gains tax benefits, whereas the 50+ age group receives 76% (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_11536-Feb.-16-08.10.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s inter-generational theft perpetrated by the baby-boomers, aided and abetted by tax policy. These tax breaks also cause of financial system instability and capital mis-allocation. The tax breaks are regressive: the top 30% highest income households receive 62.2% of total negative gearing tax breaks (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_7244-Apr.-28-13.45.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;p&gt;Personally, I think the main issue is that the distortionary effect of untaxed land rents are greatly amplified by capital gains tax exemptions. That, and housing market supply inelasticities due to restrictive zoning laws, property transaction taxes (i.e. stamp duty), drip fed land releases by local governments etc.&lt;p&gt;Eat the young!</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Under-35s in the UK face becoming permanent renters, warns thinktank</title><url>http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/13/under-35s-in-the-uk-face-becoming-permanent-renters-warns-thinktank</url></story>
<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>PebblesHD</author><text>The whole situation in Australia is infuriating at the moment. I feel like I&amp;#x27;m in a reasonable position for a young professional but I have zero chance of getting any sort of housing security with the way things are now. Between bills and rent at the moment it would take me years to save the amount needed for a deposit, and even then I&amp;#x27;d only be able to borrow enough money for a house more than an hour and a half&amp;#x27;s commute from work each way, which totally defeats the point. I&amp;#x27;ve been willing to forgo a short travel time for a reasonable place to live for years, and it&amp;#x27;s really starting to get to me. Sadly, remote work is also out of the picture thanks to the sad state of my &amp;#x27;ADSL2&amp;#x27; that tops out at 2mbit&amp;#x2F;s... It&amp;#x27;s just not a great place to be right now</text><parent_chain><item><author>spangry</author><text>Same problem in Australia. Just to define some terms for non-Australian folk:&lt;p&gt;- Negative gearing: A deduction received on net rental income losses (e.g. I&amp;#x27;m a landlord who pays $100 in loan interest, receives $60 in rent, so I claim a tax deduction of $40)&lt;p&gt;- Capital gains: I buy a house worth $100,000. A few years later I sell it for $260,000. I&amp;#x27;ve made a capital gain of $160,000.&lt;p&gt;The under 30s age group receive:&lt;p&gt;- 1% of total negative gearing tax benefits, whereas the 50+ age group receive 55% (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_11535-Feb.-16-08.09.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;p&gt;- 2% of capital gains tax benefits, whereas the 50+ age group receives 76% (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_11536-Feb.-16-08.10.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2016&amp;#x2F;02&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s inter-generational theft perpetrated by the baby-boomers, aided and abetted by tax policy. These tax breaks also cause of financial system instability and capital mis-allocation. The tax breaks are regressive: the top 30% highest income households receive 62.2% of total negative gearing tax breaks (&lt;a href=&quot;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;ScreenHunter_7244-Apr.-28-13.45.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.macrobusiness.com.au&amp;#x2F;wp-content&amp;#x2F;uploads&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;S...&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;p&gt;Personally, I think the main issue is that the distortionary effect of untaxed land rents are greatly amplified by capital gains tax exemptions. That, and housing market supply inelasticities due to restrictive zoning laws, property transaction taxes (i.e. stamp duty), drip fed land releases by local governments etc.&lt;p&gt;Eat the young!</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Under-35s in the UK face becoming permanent renters, warns thinktank</title><url>http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/13/under-35s-in-the-uk-face-becoming-permanent-renters-warns-thinktank</url></story>