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True. And the constantly varying price of land in response to the desirability of the location means that land has this inexorable tendency to push down real wa
by nwah1 8y ago
True. And the constantly varying price of land in response to the desirability of the location means that land has this inexorable tendency to push down real wages regardless of almost any kind of technological, social, or political artifices meant to raise wages.
Having a car, when it was uncommon, made it possible to engage in a bit of "geo-arbitrage" but as soon as that became common, the ability to commute was fully factored into a location.
When having a dual income household was uncommon, that could get you ahead. When that became common, it was factored into land prices, and having a dual income became necessary just to not fall behind.
All technological and social improvements follow this same pattern, and it is why the naive futurist conception of a world without work is never going to happen as long as our land system remains unchanged. That is precisely the paradox of Progress and Poverty that Henry George was explaining.
- nerdponx 8y agoDon't you think remote work could help break the cycle, at least for certain (e.g. white-collar) work?
- nwah1 8y agoPeople like to live near amenities, transportation hubs, and so forth. And many types of jobs fundamentally cannot be remote. And even if hypothetically everywhere became equally viable to live, then rents would adjust to take that into account. Of course, those with special skills will always do better. And geo-arbitrage opportunities exist during interim periods for early adopters of new folkways and new technologies.
- vorg 8y agoDon't forget both the carrot and stick are at work here. Not only do new paradigms get factored into the price of land (as demand-side forces), but also laws backed by land owners arise that resist those paradigms from becoming mainstream (as supply-side forces). So car ownership and urban roads are heavily regulated, dual incomes are taxed at a higher rate, social security will never become a universal basic income, and security/privacy and OHS legal requirements will affect the viability of remote work.