6 ms·

You need competition, which means you need developers to add more housing units, which means you need to change the regulations that prevent that from happening

You need competition, which means you need developers to add more housing units, which means you need to change the regulations that prevent that from happening. Problems in real-estate are almost always government created IMHO and not "capitalism".

User23 4y ago
There are plenty of housing units in the USA. Housing is extremely affordable in parts of many major American cities such as Detroit and Baltimore to name just a couple. For example you can buy a house in lovely Baltimore for under $25,000 in a neighborhood with amenities like a walkable park, and tennis and basketball courts[1]. The complaint is never really "housing isn't affordable," it's more along the lines of "I can't afford to live in the most desirable coastal real estate in the entire world" or "I can't afford to live in a safe place with a good school district" (a classism/racism dog whistle if ever there was one). [1] https://livebaltimore.com/neighborhoods/madison-eastend/ https://livebaltimore.com/neighborhoods/madison-eastend/
- pixl97 4y ago
  Ah, yes, I found that $25k house in Baltimore... https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2011-E-Lafayette-Ave-Baltimore-MD-21213/36453994_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2011-E-Lafayette-Ave-Balt... I see some 'houses' in the area that you're looking at for $130k, built in WWII and likely have heating bills high enough to bankrupt the wealthy unless the place is ripped apart and modern insulation is put in.
- mathgorges 4y ago
  As a native Detroiter I can confidently tell you that any house you can get for $25,000 will come with externalities that will make the house undesirable on balance. Large back tax bill, lack of city services (e.g. if live in Springwells, good luck getting a reasonable response time from Detroit PD if you're being burgled) and an unsafe transit situation are the most common ones I can think of. The houses are cheap for a reason. Its not as though Detroit is filled with provincial oafs that don't know what they're selling.
arrosenberg 4y ago
What stops the new units from being added to the cartel? Cartel members would be the best positioned to acquire them. The government enforces capitalism laws (rather than socialist or chartalist) so how do you distinguish?
- gwright 4y ago
  What are "capitalism laws"? My point is that the government is preventing the transactions. Doesn't matter if we are talking about a republic, a parliamentary system, a monarchy, a socialist country, authoritarian, feudal, local gangs, organized crime, etc. It requires power to prevent voluntary transactions and that comes in lots of flavors.
  - arrosenberg 4y ago
    I misspelled capitalist - defined as laws that benefit those with capital. My point is you are distinguishing between government and capitalism - capitalism is an attribute of the government and power structure. The people with capital are the ones preventing the transactions (to their own benefit of course).
    - gwright 4y ago
      > capitalism is an attribute of the government and power structure I don't think that is a common formulation of the idea of "capitalism".
      - arrosenberg 4y ago
        Enlighten us then? What is the common formulation according to you?
      - topaz0 4y ago
        Marxist analysis isn't that rare in my experience.
- scatters 4y ago
skrtskrt 4y ago
the end state of capitalism is just companies big enough to regulate competition out of existence. Capitalism does not mean free market.
drewcoo 4y ago
> Problems in real-estate are almost always government created IMHO and not "capitalism". But who buys the government?

User23 4y ago

There are plenty of housing units in the USA. Housing is extremely affordable in parts of many major American cities such as Detroit and Baltimore to name just a couple. For example you can buy a house in lovely Baltimore for under $25,000 in a neighborhood with amenities like a walkable park, and tennis and basketball courts[1]. The complaint is never really "housing isn't affordable," it's more along the lines of "I can't afford to live in the most desirable coastal real estate in the entire world" or "I can't afford to live in a safe place with a good school district" (a classism/racism dog whistle if ever there was one). [1] https://livebaltimore.com/neighborhoods/madison-eastend/ https://livebaltimore.com/neighborhoods/madison-eastend/

pixl97 4y ago
Ah, yes, I found that $25k house in Baltimore... https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2011-E-Lafayette-Ave-Baltimore-MD-21213/36453994_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2011-E-Lafayette-Ave-Balt... I see some 'houses' in the area that you're looking at for $130k, built in WWII and likely have heating bills high enough to bankrupt the wealthy unless the place is ripped apart and modern insulation is put in.
mathgorges 4y ago
As a native Detroiter I can confidently tell you that any house you can get for $25,000 will come with externalities that will make the house undesirable on balance. Large back tax bill, lack of city services (e.g. if live in Springwells, good luck getting a reasonable response time from Detroit PD if you're being burgled) and an unsafe transit situation are the most common ones I can think of. The houses are cheap for a reason. Its not as though Detroit is filled with provincial oafs that don't know what they're selling.

arrosenberg 4y ago

What stops the new units from being added to the cartel? Cartel members would be the best positioned to acquire them. The government enforces capitalism laws (rather than socialist or chartalist) so how do you distinguish?

gwright 4y ago
What are "capitalism laws"? My point is that the government is preventing the transactions. Doesn't matter if we are talking about a republic, a parliamentary system, a monarchy, a socialist country, authoritarian, feudal, local gangs, organized crime, etc. It requires power to prevent voluntary transactions and that comes in lots of flavors.
- arrosenberg 4y ago
  I misspelled capitalist - defined as laws that benefit those with capital. My point is you are distinguishing between government and capitalism - capitalism is an attribute of the government and power structure. The people with capital are the ones preventing the transactions (to their own benefit of course).
  - gwright 4y ago
    > capitalism is an attribute of the government and power structure I don't think that is a common formulation of the idea of "capitalism".
    - arrosenberg 4y ago
      Enlighten us then? What is the common formulation according to you?
    - topaz0 4y ago
      Marxist analysis isn't that rare in my experience.
scatters 4y ago

skrtskrt 4y ago

the end state of capitalism is just companies big enough to regulate competition out of existence. Capitalism does not mean free market.

drewcoo 4y ago

> Problems in real-estate are almost always government created IMHO and not "capitalism". But who buys the government?