3 ms·

That's only because the banks and government leverage the "middle class" into borrowing a decade's salary to invest in the housing pyramid.

notahacker 3y ago
The middle class make their own decision to borrow a decade's salary because that's better than paying the decade's salary on rent and not owning the house at the end of it.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
  The middle class did not decide that there should only be these two choices. This was put upon them.
  - notahacker 3y ago
    Sure, if you don't already own a house you have a choice of renting or buying one, or not having a house but still needing somewhere to live. What would you propose as an alternative?
    - johnrob 3y ago
      Build more homes.
      - notahacker 3y ago
        Unless you've devised a solution to housebuilding that involves homes in desirable locations which take up zero space and incur zero construction costs, this doesn't appear to present the middle class with an alternative to buying or renting the home...
      - onthecanposting 3y ago
        Housing can be very affordable if living in a dense metropolitan area is not a requirement. There are also some efficiency gains happening with design automation and prefabrication that are very slowly creeping into the industry. I think an immediate option with real benefits would be to provide a small tax advantage for businesses to allow remote/hybrid work. Obviously not everyone can do this, but for those that can, they could live where they can afford to and stop spending hours a day driving to and from an office. Personally, I work at an AEC firm that requires physical presence; however, I have had nearly zero productive in-person interactions in the office. The design team is in another state. Meetings are on MS Teams even when everyone is a few feet aeay from each other. If I talk to anyone, it's purely for the relief of the distraction it provides. I spend no less than 10hr a week commuting.

notahacker 3y ago

The middle class make their own decision to borrow a decade's salary because that's better than paying the decade's salary on rent and not owning the house at the end of it.

Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
The middle class did not decide that there should only be these two choices. This was put upon them.
- notahacker 3y ago
  Sure, if you don't already own a house you have a choice of renting or buying one, or not having a house but still needing somewhere to live. What would you propose as an alternative?
  - johnrob 3y ago
    Build more homes.
    - notahacker 3y ago
      Unless you've devised a solution to housebuilding that involves homes in desirable locations which take up zero space and incur zero construction costs, this doesn't appear to present the middle class with an alternative to buying or renting the home...
    - onthecanposting 3y ago
      Housing can be very affordable if living in a dense metropolitan area is not a requirement. There are also some efficiency gains happening with design automation and prefabrication that are very slowly creeping into the industry. I think an immediate option with real benefits would be to provide a small tax advantage for businesses to allow remote/hybrid work. Obviously not everyone can do this, but for those that can, they could live where they can afford to and stop spending hours a day driving to and from an office. Personally, I work at an AEC firm that requires physical presence; however, I have had nearly zero productive in-person interactions in the office. The design team is in another state. Meetings are on MS Teams even when everyone is a few feet aeay from each other. If I talk to anyone, it's purely for the relief of the distraction it provides. I spend no less than 10hr a week commuting.