{"id":563609,"date":"2026-08-12T12:28:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T10:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pda-ag.ch\/housing-is-not-a-moral-question-its-a-class-question\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:28:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T10:28:48","slug":"housing-is-not-a-moral-question-its-a-class-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pda-ag.ch\/en\/housing-is-not-a-moral-question-its-a-class-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing is not a moral question \u2013 it&#8217;s a class question."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Response of the PdA Aargau to two recent articles in the Aargauer Zeitung from December 10, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In recent days, the Aargauer Zeitung has published two articles that, at first glance, seem to have little to do with each other:<\/p>\n<p>One deals with the discussion about the imputed rental value and tax policy for homeowners, the other with the growing homelessness in the canton of Aargau.<\/p>\n<p>However, a closer look reveals that both articles describe two sides of the same crisis.<\/p>\n<h4>Tax policy for property \u2013 austerity policy for people<\/h4>\n<p>In the article on imputed rental value, Aargau&#8217;s Finance Director Markus Dieth defends the existing tax practice, arguing that one must adhere to the law. He particularly criticizes the Social Democratic Party (SP), which is calling for a higher tax burden on homeownership. <\/p>\n<p>This debate, however, remains strikingly one-sided:<br \/>It focuses almost exclusively on the concerns of property owners, on tax burdens, and on political majorities. Hardly any attention is paid to who systematically loses in this system:<br \/>Tenants, people without property, people without secure housing. <\/p>\n<p>The imputed rental value is not a technical detail, but part of a fundamental decision: Homeownership is politically protected, while the housing shortage is treated as a marginal problem.<\/p>\n<h4>Homelessness: The result of political decisions<\/h4>\n<p>The second article makes it clear where this policy is leading.<br \/>\nSocial services and aid organizations are sounding the alarm: In the canton of Aargau, there are increasing numbers of homeless people, while overnight accommodation is lacking or only being expanded in isolated areas.<\/p>\n<p>AZ article EVP homeless<\/p>\n<p>The political response remains defensive: They point to responsibilities, pilot projects, and federal boundaries. It is particularly telling that even minimal services \u2013 emergency shelters, low-threshold housing \u2013 are treated as extraordinary measures. <\/p>\n<p>This is not a case of individual failure, but rather structural exclusion:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>rising rents<\/li>\n<li>precarious working conditions<\/li>\n<li>lack of protection against dismissal<\/li>\n<li>Social policy subject to austerity measures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those who do not have access to property bear the full risk of the market.<\/p>\n<h4>Two articles, one reality<\/h4>\n<p>These two AZ articles together tell a clear story:<\/p>\n<p>The canton protects assets \u2013 and manages poverty.<\/p>\n<p>While tax issues for property owners immediately trigger fundamental political debates, homeless people are considered a socio-political problem that needs to be &#8220;cushioned&#8221; \u2013 not as a result of political decisions.<\/p>\n<h4>The perspective of the PdA Aargau<\/h4>\n<p>For us, it&#8217;s clear:<br \/>Housing is not a moral issue and not a question of individual merit. Housing is a class issue. <\/p>\n<p>A policy that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Homeownership is tax-privileged<\/li>\n<li>leaves the housing market to profit<\/li>\n<li>and merely manages social hardship<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This inevitably produces exclusion, insecurity, and homelessness.<\/p>\n<p>We need the following in the canton of Aargau:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a consistent public housing policy<\/li>\n<li>Protection against displacement<\/li>\n<li>real alternatives to the pure market principle<\/li>\n<li>and the courage to once again understand ownership and land as a social responsibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Our claim<\/h4>\n<p>The PdA Aargau does not want to conduct this debate on moral grounds, but rather on political ones.<br \/>\nNot about individual cases, but about structures.<br \/>\nNot about symptoms, but about causes.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone discussing imputed rental value today cannot remain silent about homelessness.<br \/>And anyone who takes homelessness seriously must address the question of ownership.<\/p>\n<p>Dominik Schrott<br \/>\nParty of Labour Aargau<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Response of the PdA Aargau to two recent articles in the Aargauer Zeitung from December 10, 2025 In recent days, the Aargauer Zeitung has published two articles that, at first glance, seem to have little to do with each other: One deals with the discussion about the imputed rental value and tax policy for homeowners, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-563609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - 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