3 ms·

If just the rent was covered for everyone ~$12k/yr, then rents would inflate universally ~$12k/yr because housing pricing is a function of income elasticity. T

If just the rent was covered for everyone ~$12k/yr, then rents would inflate universally ~$12k/yr because housing pricing is a function of income elasticity. That German gated community you linked has housing that is owned by a trust. I don't think you can ask residents of the U.S. to voluntarily hand over all their housing property to a trust, or require them to be Catholic to reside in it.

stcredzero 9y ago
I don't think you can ask residents of the U.S. to voluntarily hand over all their housing property to a trust, or require them to be Catholic to reside in it. However, I think it could be possible to have many, many such trusts which cater to specific interest groups. How about communities which cater to different kinds of artists, musicians, writers, philosophers, etc...? If something like 60% of the US population could be covered this way, it would combine many of the best aspects of universal coverage with the benefits of meritocracy and the advantages of a voluntary basis.
- bduerst 9y ago
  That's counterintuitive into itself. Everyone living in a trust that's also a meritocracy? Meritocracies reward meritorious individuals, which is difficult to do when forcing everyone to live in communal housing. This isn't very well thought out.
  - stcredzero 9y ago
    Everyone living in a trust that's also a meritocracy? Sure. An artist commune shouldn't be letting you in unless you actually have some skill and artistic talent. Meritocracies reward meritorious individuals, which is difficult to do when forcing everyone to live in communal housing. This isn't very well thought out. You didn't try and prove the null hypothesis very hard, did you? There already exist intentional communities and artist colonies, where some degree of skill (merit) is a requirement. This is analogous to the German trust cited above, except the Catholicism requirement is replaced by some sort of merit-based interest.

stcredzero 9y ago

I don't think you can ask residents of the U.S. to voluntarily hand over all their housing property to a trust, or require them to be Catholic to reside in it. However, I think it could be possible to have many, many such trusts which cater to specific interest groups. How about communities which cater to different kinds of artists, musicians, writers, philosophers, etc...? If something like 60% of the US population could be covered this way, it would combine many of the best aspects of universal coverage with the benefits of meritocracy and the advantages of a voluntary basis.

bduerst 9y ago
That's counterintuitive into itself. Everyone living in a trust that's also a meritocracy? Meritocracies reward meritorious individuals, which is difficult to do when forcing everyone to live in communal housing. This isn't very well thought out.
- stcredzero 9y ago
  Everyone living in a trust that's also a meritocracy? Sure. An artist commune shouldn't be letting you in unless you actually have some skill and artistic talent. Meritocracies reward meritorious individuals, which is difficult to do when forcing everyone to live in communal housing. This isn't very well thought out. You didn't try and prove the null hypothesis very hard, did you? There already exist intentional communities and artist colonies, where some degree of skill (merit) is a requirement. This is analogous to the German trust cited above, except the Catholicism requirement is replaced by some sort of merit-based interest.