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> Any economy that prices out its labor is doomed. I have heard this claimed a great deal, but has it ever happened in a major city (heard of it in some tiny r

> Any economy that prices out its labor is doomed. I have heard this claimed a great deal, but has it ever happened in a major city (heard of it in some tiny rural towns)? The places with high housing costs are some of the most productive economies out there. Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, etc. should be experiencing the worst possible labor shortages were this the case.

NotMichaelBay 3y ago
I don't know of examples on a massive scale but I know there are lots of firefighters (and probably police) that live 1-2 hours away from their station. They are priced out of the neighborhood and even neighborhoods surrounding the one they serve.
- abeppu 3y ago
  IDK, looking at SF data, I see plenty of firefighters, police officers etc whose overtime pay is higher than their base salary, and whose cash compensation is above 300k. For example: https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Police+Officer+3&y=2022&s=-gross https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Police+...
michaelt 3y ago
Clearly, supply and demand will always be in equilibrium for some price. But it might mean the workers your economy deems most worthy of reward can't afford to have children; and the workers who clean the offices and suchlike are sleeping in bunk beds four to a room. As visions for the future of our society go, some might consider that somewhat unambitious.
- anon291 3y ago
  > But it might mean the workers your economy deems most worthy of reward can't afford to have children; Except it's the exact opposite, and the poorer you are, the more likely you are to have children, whereas the rich who can afford those homes are not. > and the workers who clean the offices and suchlike are sleeping in bunk beds four to a room There is nothing 'wrong' with that.
epistasis 3y ago
Now imagine how much more productive they would be if they didn't restrict entry to the housing market so much? Is ejecting a person to a lower-cost and lower-income area from a higher-income area going to increase or decrease overall productivity? I would say decrease.
ipaddr 3y ago
Cities price out people/businesses all of the time. Some more expensive service fills the void. How many flea markets exist in those big cities compared to the past for an obvious example. The pool of people willing to work minimum wage is decreasing in those cities. Other things like migrant workers and mass immigration are filling in at lower wages for now.

NotMichaelBay 3y ago

I don't know of examples on a massive scale but I know there are lots of firefighters (and probably police) that live 1-2 hours away from their station. They are priced out of the neighborhood and even neighborhoods surrounding the one they serve.

abeppu 3y ago
IDK, looking at SF data, I see plenty of firefighters, police officers etc whose overtime pay is higher than their base salary, and whose cash compensation is above 300k. For example: https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Police+Officer+3&y=2022&s=-gross https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Police+...

michaelt 3y ago

Clearly, supply and demand will always be in equilibrium for some price. But it might mean the workers your economy deems most worthy of reward can't afford to have children; and the workers who clean the offices and suchlike are sleeping in bunk beds four to a room. As visions for the future of our society go, some might consider that somewhat unambitious.

anon291 3y ago
> But it might mean the workers your economy deems most worthy of reward can't afford to have children; Except it's the exact opposite, and the poorer you are, the more likely you are to have children, whereas the rich who can afford those homes are not. > and the workers who clean the offices and suchlike are sleeping in bunk beds four to a room There is nothing 'wrong' with that.

epistasis 3y ago

Now imagine how much more productive they would be if they didn't restrict entry to the housing market so much? Is ejecting a person to a lower-cost and lower-income area from a higher-income area going to increase or decrease overall productivity? I would say decrease.

ipaddr 3y ago

Cities price out people/businesses all of the time. Some more expensive service fills the void. How many flea markets exist in those big cities compared to the past for an obvious example. The pool of people willing to work minimum wage is decreasing in those cities. Other things like migrant workers and mass immigration are filling in at lower wages for now.