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The housing market is not "broken", it's working exactly the way it's expected to in a relatively unregulated capitalist system. In unregulated capitalism, the
by vannevar 4y ago
The housing market is not "broken", it's working exactly the way it's expected to in a relatively unregulated capitalist system. In unregulated capitalism, the wealthiest segments of the population get richer at a faster rate than poorer segments, which means the rate at which they can purchase property increases over time faster than their less wealthy peers. Eventually, a tiny fraction of the population owns everything and rents it out to the rest at higher and higher rates. Building additional housing can provide temporary relief but does not address the underlying mechanism. Only retooling our economic systems to moderate the rich-get-richer feedback loops can ultimately fix the problem.
- alexb_ 4y agoIn an unregulated capitalist system, supply increases to meet demand. In our regulated hellscape, it's impossible to build anything due to existing owners using the government to prevent supply increases.
- vannevar 4y ago>In an unregulated capitalist system, supply increases to meet demand. But demand comes from capital, not from the housing needs of individuals. In one tier of the economy, a house is a home; for another, that same house is an investment. The poor cannot afford to outbid the wealthy for housing, and the gap is widening at an accelerating pace. That's why building more houses won't solve the problem in the long term, because the rich are getting wealthier much faster than the poor (or middle class), and any increase in supply will go to serve their demand for rental property.
- fdgsdfogijq 4y agoExtremely cheap interest rates caused by the government is not capitalism. It's actually socialism, cheap money to prop up zombie businesses.