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If housing were the problem you wouldn't see parallels in other countries that have vastly different housing landscapes. Big societal problems don't have one s

If housing were the problem you wouldn't see parallels in other countries that have vastly different housing landscapes. Big societal problems don't have one simple solution because if they did they'd be solved and they wouldn't be big societal problems.

eru 5y ago
> If housing were the problem you wouldn't see parallels in other countries that have vastly different housing landscapes. Well, have you looked at those other countries? Housing become more expensive has been a fairly broad trend in many countries. Looking at specific examples (and looking at their other problems) is instructive, indeed.
- wahern 5y ago
  Housing price inflation is definitely a trend across many developed countries. But it's not universal, or at least uneven. I haven't researched data for this specifically, but a broader trend might be the bifurcation of labor into creatives and non-creatives (or some similar rough dichotomy), with the former seeing faster income growth than the latter. Such a phenomenon would readily explain housing price inflation while also being an obvious consequence of globalized labor markets depressing most strongly income growth for non-creatives.
  - eru 5y ago
    But labour markets aren't globalised. We have strong restrictions on migration all around the globe. Some goods and services are tradeable, but also with some legal restrictions.
    - wahern 5y ago
      > Some goods and services are tradeable Most goods are tradable, and for decades now manufacture of consumer goods relocates relatively quickly in search of low cost labor. This leaves a surplus of workers behind, suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services. IOW, labor markets are strongly globalized from the perspective of capital. A little less so from the perspective of laborers, though their wages remain stagnant all the same, so in many ways it's a distinction without a difference.
      - eru 5y ago
        Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it? That's something we can look into.
        wahern 5y ago
        > Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it? Not necessarily, as the laborers displaced by off-shoring are now competing in the labor pool for many other non-tradeable industries. That's what I meant when I said, "suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services." An increase in supply relative to demand usually will mean a lower clearing price (i.e. more people for fewer jobs usually means lower accepted wages).

eru 5y ago

> If housing were the problem you wouldn't see parallels in other countries that have vastly different housing landscapes. Well, have you looked at those other countries? Housing become more expensive has been a fairly broad trend in many countries. Looking at specific examples (and looking at their other problems) is instructive, indeed.

wahern 5y ago
Housing price inflation is definitely a trend across many developed countries. But it's not universal, or at least uneven. I haven't researched data for this specifically, but a broader trend might be the bifurcation of labor into creatives and non-creatives (or some similar rough dichotomy), with the former seeing faster income growth than the latter. Such a phenomenon would readily explain housing price inflation while also being an obvious consequence of globalized labor markets depressing most strongly income growth for non-creatives.
- eru 5y ago
  But labour markets aren't globalised. We have strong restrictions on migration all around the globe. Some goods and services are tradeable, but also with some legal restrictions.
  - wahern 5y ago
    > Some goods and services are tradeable Most goods are tradable, and for decades now manufacture of consumer goods relocates relatively quickly in search of low cost labor. This leaves a surplus of workers behind, suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services. IOW, labor markets are strongly globalized from the perspective of capital. A little less so from the perspective of laborers, though their wages remain stagnant all the same, so in many ways it's a distinction without a difference.
    - eru 5y ago
      Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it? That's something we can look into.
      - wahern 5y ago
        > Your logic would suggest that workers in tradable industries get paid less than those in non-tradeable goods and services, wouldn't it? Not necessarily, as the laborers displaced by off-shoring are now competing in the labor pool for many other non-tradeable industries. That's what I meant when I said, "suppressing wages in industries with low costs of entry--remaining manufacturing but especially non-professional services." An increase in supply relative to demand usually will mean a lower clearing price (i.e. more people for fewer jobs usually means lower accepted wages).