Rent control is often sold as the solution to affordable housing, but economists keep pointing out that it reduces the supply of rental units over time. In San Francisco, where strict rent control has been in place since 1979, a Stanford study found that landlords converted thousands of apartments to condos or left them vacant, shrinking the rental pool by 15% over a decade. I've seen this firsthand in my own neighborhood—new developments rarely include rentals because the caps make long-term returns unattractive. If the goal is actually helping low-income families find homes, shouldn't we rethink policies that might make the shortage worse?