I am sometimes asked the following question.  If I regard rent control as poor public policy (as I actually do), why do I avail myself of its benefits?  (Of course, the landlord has challenged my right to this--so let’s not tell them about my views.) 

The answer is this.  For decades both political parties have been buying votes to sustain themselves in office.  They do this by subtracting money and benefits from the community as a whole, and channeling them to their favored client groups.  This means that less and less is being left in the pool to be shared in the outer precincts in which the unfavored dwell, either through ignorance or inability to extract themselves from their situation.

Should one voluntarily consign oneself to this group with its ever-shrinking prospects, or should one join in the largess that is being provided by the process I noted above?  The answer is obvious.  Libertarianism is not a suicide pact.