If the government just changes such major property rights on a whim, what's to stop them from fucking with yours?
Not much. Have you not noticed how there's a ton of other covid measures?
but if you look at small time mom and pops (50%), even paying cash, they won't recoup that investment for well over a decade
The "small time mom and pops" are the biggest problem.
but property was supposed to be safe, because you had rights.
Well, that's the thing. A "safe" investment is an oxymoron.
If it's safe, it's not an investment anymore.
This is why the abovementioned "small time mom and pops" are such a problem; The rent includes the risk premium. But while major real instate investment companies can bear the risk, "mom and pop" can and do not.
And this fundamentally means that their properties are no longer investments. That their exorbitant rents are no longer "the profits of risky investment" but rather parasitism on the rest of society; The rentier income of an oligopoly.
I'd like to remind you that it was landlords who choice to frame their properties as investments.
You should examine why you would cheer the blatant (and indeed, ruled unconstitutional) erosion of rights.
No need. I'm a filthy European commie (read: Social democrat) who believes the government should use their powers to help stop a disease pandemic that would otherwise seriously damage society.
Let's not forget, and this might invalidate everything you said; unemployment, which required no job seeking requirements, paid more than most people made before the pandemic. There was a federal bonus as well as state unemployment. I worked with people that quit their jobs, made more money than me, and still didn't pay rent.
Sure, had the US had a competent unemployment scheme then eviction moratoriums wouldn't have been needed as everyone could just pay rent.
But there's three problems with that:
Your conservatives are screeching to take away the unemployment, so that's not exactly going to give you the pile of replacement-tenants landlords need if they evict millions.
It might well straight up not be enough. Sure, lots of people with very low paying jobs in low CoL areas will be making more. But that sure isn't everyone. Plenty of people won't have enough money.
Not paying rent when you can is just dumb. You still owe back-rent and being evicted means you'll (in normal conditions) have to pay more rent as rents have been increasing.