Moving on to housing – create incentives to build smaller units by using taxation as a disincentive to building larger units. The housing market is a private market and it should remain that way. But that doesn't mean that those who build mega mansions shouldn't pay a stiff penalty for the amount of resources they use. Tax them and tax them again. Tax them if they own more than a single property. Tax them in the morning – tax them in the afternoon and use those tax revenues to build public housing, infrastructure and public schools. Put square meter limit on properties that will go untaxed – say seventy square meter, two bedroom units. That's about the size of a good sized apartment in Manhattan. Beyond that size, institute progressive property taxes at every thirty meters. As smaller units dominate the housing inventory, they might have the additional benefit of convincing couples of the wisdom of having fewer children. While we're on housing, create further incentives to build smaller units by charging progressively higher rates for the consumption of electricity, gas and water. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that smaller units consume less of everything – not only when they're built but also when they're occupied. Work with the furniture industry for innovative dual usage solutions to make smaller places more attractive to live in. That's how the Japanese and other overcrowded nations have dealt with providing adequate shelter to their teeming masses. It will require a change of living habits and expectations. We need to sell Egyptians on the beauty of small spaces. Build them small, build them well, throw in a little architectural flair and we'll end up accommodating more people in quality housing. There is a huge inventory of unused housing units in Egypt. One of the ironies of the housing crisis is that many Egyptians horde space by putting units on ice for their kids and their grand-children. There is a large speculative element in the demand for housing. To tackle this phenomenon, increase taxes on empty units and do away on any taxation of rental income. Right now, we have it backwards – we penalize those who rent their empty units and don't get a piaster of tax revenues from individuals that horde empty space. Give owners iron-clad legal protections and incentives to rent them out without the fear of losing their space to long term tenants. Pass a law that will allow a landlord the right to give a six month eviction notice to any tenant for any reason and establish special housing courts that have the power to expeditiously enforce all laws related to landlord-tenant contractual disputes. Restore property rights to apartment building owners who have been punished enough by rent-control laws. I'm not an anarchist and I know that abolishing or amending rent control will lead to riots in the streets. The obvious solution is not to break the long standing promise to tenants who live in rent controlled apartments. They were innocent beneficiaries from what was essentially a program to confiscate the property of their landlords. The best solution is to make the government pay for that lavish promise – not the landlords. Property rights are sacred individual rights. And the government has no right to be generous with a private citizen's property. There is many a mansion sized apartment in Cairo occupied by a single tenant. It's just not right to move a little old pensioner out of her home but it is equally criminal to oblige the landlord to give up all but a token portion of the rent. The state created the problem and the state should pay for it by subsidizing the rents up to half their market value. Egypt is a crowded country. There is only so much space to go around and there is a limit to what we can provide every citizen in terms of goods. To a large degree, we can make up for that by providing world class services to every citizen. If we emphasize basic services over goods – we can deliver a more refined standard of living – even if we continue to live in confined spaces. ** part 4 on health care will be published June 4 ** Ahmed Amr is an Arab-American economist, a political commentator and the former editor of NileMedia.com. He is the author of “Cilantro Dreams”, “The Sheep and the Guardians” and “My Name is Not Leila”
