Effects of Rent Hikes

* The exorbitant rent hikes happening all over Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, and which most recently happened to me at an increase of $45 a month, will affect not only the tenants but the entire community.

How? The extra rent money will come off the cash that would have ordinarily been spent at a restaurant, at a retail store or even at television cable companies. TV cable is a luxury to me, so I do without it. With lower rents, I might purchase it.

Because of the rent hike, I will not buy some extra clothing that I had originally planned on. It goes back to that famous quote, which goes something like: “No man is an island entire of himself. Every man (and woman) is a part of the whole, a part of the mainland.”

If the community is willing to let the landlords take all the money, leaving none for any of the retailers, then so be it. But if the retailers feel a bit of jealousy that the landlords are getting all the money, leaving them to lose profits, then everyone should lobby for rent control in this area.

Remember, everyone will be affected, not just the tenants.

CARLA CAHILL

Thousand Oaks