SF isn't the whole world. Yes, there is gov't insanity in housing in the US, but bad housing decisions are made across the US' various states and city governmen

SF isn't the whole world. Yes, there is gov't insanity in housing in the US, but bad housing decisions are made across the US' various states and city governments. Canada, with a much more sensible gov't [0], has similar woes driven by building idiotic high rises. [0] Govt spending as a fraction of GDP is similar; the suburbs are much higher density than the US; the line at the DMV takes less then 15 minutes; a new passport takes 2 hours to get from when it was requested (clearly I've lived in very many places).