A referendum due in Berlin next month on expropriating big residential landlords should be a wake-up call. The ballot, prompted by a petition, would activate a never-before-used part of the German constitution that allows the state to take over “land, natural resources and means of production” in exchange for compensation. If it passes, the largest private landlords would be forced to sell their properties to the city government at a “fair” price. This would do little to solve Berliners’ grievances, but it demonstrates the extent of anger about seemingly broken housing markets across the developed world.
下月将在柏林举行的关于征收大型房东住宅房产的公投，应该成为一记警钟。由请愿引发的此次公投，将激活德国宪法中一条从未动用过的内容，即允许国家以提供补偿为交换条件，接管“土地、自然资源和生产资料”。如果公投获得通过，各大私人房东将被迫按“公允”价格将其房产出售给市政府。这么做不会帮助解决柏林人的不满，但它展示了发达国家看似失灵的住房市场所引发的愤怒。