In the early years, staying in other people’s houses felt like an act of rebellion against corporate hotel chains.
by Sonali Kolhatkar
Americans have been on a vacation binge since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. In particular, the vacation rental company Airbnb is thriving. Late last year, the company posted its highest-ever profits.
"Staying in other people’s houses felt like an act of rebellion against corporate hotel chains," Kolhatkar said. Affordable, off-the-beaten path rentals once had their quirky charm until corporations invaded the short-term rental market.
Photo: Theo Rivierenlaan/Pixabay
A 2017 study of New York City by the watchdog group Inside Airbnb concluded that the Airbnb model also fuels racism in the housing market. “Across all 72 predominantly Black New York City neighborhoods,” the group found, “hosts are five times more likely to be white.” But the “loss of housing and neighborhood disruption due to Airbnb is six times more likely to affect Black residents.” To curb such inequities, New York City, which already had strict rules about short-term rentals and subleases, passed a law in 2023 requiring Airbnb to ensure that hosts obtain permission to rent out housing. If it fails to do so, both the host and the company are hit with hefty fines. While this means potentially higher hotel costs for out-of-town visitors, it could also free up rentals for long-term residents. According to The Guardian, this may already be happening, just months after the law went into effect in September. While cheaper vacation stays are certainly desirable for those of us who love to travel, vacationing is a privilege in the U.S. More than a third of Americans, a 2023 survey found, are unlikely to take a summer vacation. And of those, more than half say they simply can’t afford it. A 2019 Economic Policy Institute study pointed out that “Airbnb might, as claimed, suppress the growth of travel accommodation costs, but these costs are not a first-order problem for American families.” What is a first-order problem is affordable housing. While regulating Airbnb will not mitigate all economic injustices facing Americans — such as suppressed wages and a lack of government-funded health care — it certainly will move the needle in the right direction.
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. This commentary was produced by the Economy for All project at the Independent Media Institute and adapted for syndication by OtherWords.org.
Among people with ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, those who began taking an antidepressant known as an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and/or an SNRI (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) for the common conditions of post-stroke depression and anxiety, did not have an increased risk of hemorrhagic (bleeds) stroke or other serious bleeding. This included people taking anticoagulation medications. There was, however, an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke among stroke patients taking two anti-platelet medications, also called dual anti-platelet therapy or DAPT.
“Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, are very common yet treatable conditions that may develop after a stroke. Our results should reassure clinicians that for most stroke survivors, it is safe to prescribe SSRI and/or SNRI antidepressants early after stroke to treat post-stroke depression and anxiety, which may help optimize their patients’ recovery,” said study lead author Kent P. Simmonds, D.O., Ph.D., a third-year physical medicine and rehabilitation resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “However, caution is needed when considering the risk-benefit profile for stroke patients receiving dual anti-platelet therapy because we did find an increased risk of bleeding among this group.”
