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I don't know what you mean by a "just-so" story. Can you expand on that?
by andrewprock 7y ago
I don't know what you mean by a "just-so" story. Can you expand on that?
- xyzzyz 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-so_story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-so_story Humans are really good at crafting narratives explaining complex and uncertain reality. However, just because something sounds superficialy plausible, doesn't mean it is true: it is usually easy to craft an alternative theory, just as plausible as the one at hand. For example, the narrative of Prop 13 being the root of all California's housing problem very much depends on exactly how much it affects the decision making. It could be a lot, it could be a little, but without knowing exactly (or at least approximately), we're simply in the dark. Maybe it's not Prop 13, but environmental activists running amok? Maybe it's a cartel in the construction industry colluding to keep the construction prices up? Without putting numbers on these, you can't tell which of these has significant impact, and which is irrelevant.
- andrewprock 7y agoThe issue has been studied extensively. There is plenty of stuff available out there if you go look.
- xyzzyz 7y agoYes, and I haven’t seen anything suggesting that it’s Prop 13 that’s responsible for majority of the premium in California’s housing costs compared to other states. It’s not nothing, but it pales in comparison to zoning regulations and requirements for environmental traffic etc impact studies that drag on and on.