So, in other words, the landlord is selling a service? In exchange for a monthly fee, you don't have to do any of the crap (down payments, mortgages, property taxes, maintenance) it takes to own a home?
Do you view farmers the same way? If it weren't for the fact that you need to eat to survive, you wouldn't have to buy their product! And what do they do anyway? Just plant some seeds in the ground and wait for them to grow! Those damn leeches!
People complain we shouldn't subsidize people buying homes who can't afford them. Then why the f____ are we subsidizing landlords instead?
Providing food for free is next on my list. I don't need labor. I just need clean energy and automation.
If they refuse to condemn themselves to such, you can always call them evil.
I'm not sure from where this kind of thinking arises. Any investment is supposed to be a vehicle where your money increases without you having to directly work for it.
By that definition, all investments are wrong.
It's not being evil per se, but being an economic leech of sorts. The only reason people need to rent is because of the requirements to own (down payments, emergency funds to cover your mortgage in tough times so you don't lose your equity). Its an arbitrage between someone on financially sound footing versus someone not so.
Disclaimer: My family has a landlord or two in it. I make my disdain for what they do known. If I had Facebook money, I'd create a B Corp to provide housing to people that gave them a non-transferable equity stake, co-op style. A small amount would be "off the top" for management of the organization and for upkeep of the properties. I would make the org fully transparent ("Buffer Style") and ruthlessly accountable.