American History 1988
Chapter 39 - 36: The Smile of Capital

Chapter 39: Chapter 36: The Smile of Capital

"Last year was both an ordinary and a transformative year for Youngstown," Kent, dressed in a white shirt paired with a red tie, spoke confidently into the microphone.

"The only remaining steel mill in Youngstown is still on its last legs, and the economy shows no signs of improvement. Most workers living in the city have now gone north to Packard Electric in Warren City, where several large factories remain.

But the fact that fewer and fewer people choose to stay in Youngstown has led to a growing number of vacant houses in the city."

Everyone present was well aware of the realities Kent had described.

"So, as the number of empty houses increases, does that mean the rent should go down?" Kent quickly dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand before anyone could answer, "No! As long as there is demand, rent will not decrease."

"Though people continue to move away from Youngstown, there are always newcomers. Especially in the north and east of the city, those areas are never short of people."

Laughter erupted from the crowd following Kent’s remark. They knew he was implying something about the impoverished residents in the north and east of the city.

The majority living there were people of color, such as African Americans, Latinos, Puerto Ricans, etc. Not only had their numbers not decreased, but they had actually grown in the past two years.

"Under the guidance of the city government and various charities, Youngstown is becoming increasingly black." If earlier the crowd had merely smiled in understanding, this time they burst into laughter.

"Kent’s always so blunt," Susie said with a laugh, shrugging at Dean.

"It shows," Dean replied, raising an eyebrow. That’s very American. In an age without political correctness, racial jokes were made without any reservations.

It wasn’t just him; even the few black people present laughed along. Perhaps in their eyes, the poor people living in the north and east of the city were no longer their brethren.

"OK~ Though they live in the north and east, in my eyes, they’re walking ’Benjamins,’" Kent continued, sharing his insights on property renting.

Even though more and more people of color were moving into Youngstown, they were not without value. Thanks to government and charity welfare policies, most of them had housing vouchers in hand.

"I know everyone has reservations about housing vouchers, but actually, they can be a good deal. Because the moment you see a tenant whip out a housing voucher, you can silently raise the rent by a couple hundred US Dollars.

As for the potential property management costs, come on! We’re landlords; we just rent out the place and collect the cash. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the south or west of the city."

Silence fell over the crowd as they understood what Kent was implying. He wanted to rent the houses in the white neighborhoods to those black people! Only houses in white neighborhoods would pass the inspections of the housing authority, allowing the vouchers to be cashed in.

Renting houses to black people?! Everyone was stunned at first, but then the frowns slowly relaxed, and sporadic applause began, building into a thunderous ovation within a minute.

Mother F*cker! I just want to make money! Whether it’s a white or black neighborhood, what the hell does that have to do with me!

The people regarded Kent as a hero; he had voiced what they had all buried deep in their hearts but dared not express. He broke the tacit agreement long held by everyone — to keep black people out of white neighborhoods, yet nobody blamed him.

Because in the face of profit, everything else becomes insignificant.

Watching everyone jubilantly celebrate in the hall, Dean knew that the safety of Youngstown would only get worse.

But that saying was right; it’s none of his business. He also just wanted to make money, to make money from the people in that hall.

Next, Kent shared a few more golden tips related to the rental market, such as his belief that storage was also a "golden spot" in real estate.

"Storage can yield profits comparable to renting, but..." he lowered his voice, squinting his eyes, "but you don’t have to mess with people. If someone falls behind on their rent, you just seize their stuff. That’s the sweetest part of America’s huge economic machine, guaranteed to make you a handsome profit."

After another round of applause, Kent handed the microphone over to a lady to share her own golden tips.

"If the asbestos test comes back positive, you’re under no obligation to report it to the municipal authorities or the tenants. You can act as if you don’t know, with no legal risk at all."

"If someone falls behind on their rent, as a landlord, you can apply to garnish up to 20% of the tenant’s bank deposits, but not so much that their balance falls below 1,000 US Dollars. Of course, you can’t touch those who receive welfare benefits." A lawyer stood up to share his experience.

"Can you intercept a tenant’s tax refund?" someone asked.

The lawyer looked surprised, "No, only the governor has that power."

The more Dean listened, the more he felt the strong American flavor in the hall. It fitted his image of capitalism perfectly — law and order, health, dignity... in their eyes, none of these mattered, only profit did.

After everyone had their chance at "brainstorming," the microphone was once again handed back to Kent Hills.

"Alright, we’ve garnered many golden tips from today’s meeting. Before we conclude, please allow me to introduce a new partner." Kent gestured invitingly toward Dean.

"Dean Price! The exceptional computer genius! With just a computer, he can provide us with free advertising, free of charge!"

Amid Kent Hillz’s enthusiastic and somewhat exaggerated introduction, Dean stood up with a smile, nodding and greeting everyone.

Walking to the front of the hall and taking the microphone from Kent’s hand, Dean was ready for his performance.

"First of all, I share an identity with everyone here, that is, a landlord." Dean’s opening remark elicited knowing smiles from the audience; they were all on the same side.

"Just now, Mr. Hillz said I could bring everyone free advertising, and that’s true, and I’ve always done just that. Only my ads are posted online, not in newspapers or magazines as you might imagine.

About the internet—I won’t elaborate, as I believe that as elites, everyone here knows what the internet is." Under Dean’s probing gaze, everyone in the hall cooperatively answered "Yes!"

Prior to their arrival, they’d been informed by Kent that today’s meeting would have a special segment related to the internet. So even those who were initially unfamiliar with it had gained an approximate impression after being briefed.

"Very good, then let’s get straight to the point. Just now while sitting down there, I saw many old friends. Last time in Miss Susie’s class, we even exchanged contact information."

Susie and the landlords who had registered with Dean last time all waved at him with a smile, they could all be considered acquaintances by now.

"So..." Dean spread his hands with a smile, "How many people here have heard of Price’s List?"

This time, about half the people in the hall raised their hands in unison; they were some of the early users of Price’s List website.

"I see some of you are unfamiliar with the name Price’s List, no worries, you’ll have the chance to get reacquainted with it shortly." Saying this, Dean bent over to start working on a computer nearby.

A computer had been set up in the venue, prepared by Kent for Dean. As he opened the website, Dean also connected his own hard drive.

Soon, the familiar white webpage appeared, the blue letters of Price List striking the eye.

"This is a website focused on city-wide services, local news, community events, lost and found, job networking... almost everything in life can be answered here.

Of course, today we’re mainly talking about the housing service, as you can see," Dean clicked on the housing section, and hundreds of rental advertisements popped up.

It must be said that with the support of the American internet servers, Price’s List now and the original site are like two completely different products.

"These are all rental ads, and their owners are sitting right below."

"Yo!", "Cool!" Some people proudly stood up and cheered when they saw their own ads.

When they settled down, Dean continued with a smile, "It seems everyone has reaped a lot from this platform~"

"Indeed, I rented out my apartment successfully on Price’s List," a white man wearing a camo hat stood up to share his experience. "Because of it, the broker couldn’t make a penny off me! It’s freaking unbelievable, I’m earning a full 200 US dollars more than before!"

"Congratulations, Lenny! This won’t be your last successful deal, I guarantee." Dean smiled and gestured him to sit down, this wasn’t a plant but a real-life success story from Price’s List.

Of course, the person who rented Lenny’s house was a classmate of Roger’s. He chose to register an account on Price’s List and rent a house, following Roger’s persuasion. It just so happened that Lenny was unaware of all this.

"Look, this is Price’s List! Anybody using the internet could potentially see your rental ads, and all of this is free of charge!" Dean stood beside the computer, proudly showing off his creation to everyone.

This time, there was an even warmer round of applause in the hall, intrigued by the novelty of the internet, the incredibly convenient advertising, and the fact it was all free... all these factors held the audience’s rapt attention on Dean.

"So the issue of advertising for tenants is addressed, but there is another problem that often troubles everyone." Dean, playing the teaser, shifted his gaze to the pink figure below, "Regarding tenants, Miss Susie, what do you think is most important?"

Being named, Susie first winked at Dean, then rose gracefully, "It’s screening."

"That’s right, screening!" Dean snapped his fingers, his eyes shining as if he had found a kindred spirit. Receiving his validation, Susie nodded modestly before sitting back down.

"Screening is, for landlords, the most crucial step in the rental process. Encountering a tenant with extremely poor credit not only means you will lose a significant amount of rent but could also lead to trouble."

Dean’s explanation resonated with many, as they had all encountered such unpleasant situations. Although the eventual litigation concluded with a win, it didn’t guarantee they could recoup their money.

Some people would rather be evicted than make up the rent. And this often resulted in heavy losses for the landlords.

"So how do we solve the screening issue?" Dean smiled enigmatically, like a seasoned farmer raising his scythe.

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