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There's probably nothing in modern history that hurts upward mobility and quality of life more than the disaster that is housing in western countries. Like most

by dmix 4y ago

There's probably nothing in modern history that hurts upward mobility and quality of life more than the disaster that is housing in western countries. Like most things it's a product of good intentions and previous winners using gov to kick the rug out for everyone else. The Bay Area is the classic example but this exists in urban (and increasingly suburban) areas in almost every wealthy western country: UK, Canada, Australia, etc. The only major-changes that actually help are stuff like work arounds ala working from home or using AirBnB to offset mortgage costs. I've read that the meme of "middle class is dead" is mostly bullshit, incomes have stayed consistent, the only major difference is cost of living, which housing ranks #1 by far.

dreamcompiler 4y ago
Don't forget college. The [very good] public university I got my degree from in the 80s charged me about $180 per semester for tuition. The price now is $7500. That doesn't include books, housing, food, etc.
amadeuspagel 4y ago
The US, the UK, Canada and Australia are all common law countries. Wealthy western countries that have administrative law, like Japan, Germany and France do not have this problem to the same extent.
- dmix 4y ago
  That's an interesting point, I wasn't aware of that. I asked GPT to explain how this affects housing policy compared to the US and it does sound much better. Simpler processes based on clear sets of rules rather than complex caselaw, public participation is more limited and not imposed at every stage, and "there is typically a single permitting authority responsible for issuing permits and overseeing compliance, which can reduce bureaucratic obstacles and simplify the process for developers". Some of these can be addressed without shifting this stuff to administrative law, but it's a good baseline.
KerrAvon 4y ago
It’s not bullshit, it’s just more nuanced than that, as things often are. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/20/how-the-ame...
Karrot_Kream 4y ago
And like the IRB there's historical precedent for the laws the previous winners use to freeze development. Before the creation of laws like NEPA and CEQA in the US, civil engineering projects would frequently lead to environmental issues. Before local control over housing became the norm, minority neighborhoods and shops were razed to accommodate highways. Now those laws are being weaponized to freeze development.

by dmix 4y ago

dreamcompiler 4y ago

Don't forget college. The [very good] public university I got my degree from in the 80s charged me about $180 per semester for tuition. The price now is $7500. That doesn't include books, housing, food, etc.

amadeuspagel 4y ago

The US, the UK, Canada and Australia are all common law countries. Wealthy western countries that have administrative law, like Japan, Germany and France do not have this problem to the same extent.

dmix 4y ago
That's an interesting point, I wasn't aware of that. I asked GPT to explain how this affects housing policy compared to the US and it does sound much better. Simpler processes based on clear sets of rules rather than complex caselaw, public participation is more limited and not imposed at every stage, and "there is typically a single permitting authority responsible for issuing permits and overseeing compliance, which can reduce bureaucratic obstacles and simplify the process for developers". Some of these can be addressed without shifting this stuff to administrative law, but it's a good baseline.

KerrAvon 4y ago

It’s not bullshit, it’s just more nuanced than that, as things often are. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/20/how-the-ame...

Karrot_Kream 4y ago

And like the IRB there's historical precedent for the laws the previous winners use to freeze development. Before the creation of laws like NEPA and CEQA in the US, civil engineering projects would frequently lead to environmental issues. Before local control over housing became the norm, minority neighborhoods and shops were razed to accommodate highways. Now those laws are being weaponized to freeze development.