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So long as there are more home seekers than homes people will be in competition with their peers for homes. But maybe that's the idea? If people felt secure in

So long as there are more home seekers than homes people will be in competition with their peers for homes. But maybe that's the idea? If people felt secure in their home then maybe they wouldn't work so hard, perhaps switch to a 4 (or 3!) day work week, maybe get more involved in their community, volunteering, advocacy, etc. And that would, presumably, be a disaster. We apparently need everybody working as hard as possible so that capital owners can take a share of our labour. It is hard not to feel like housing scarcity is the primary tool to keep everybody working at capacity, and all for the benefit of the few. Of course, when people shriek about capitalism they're usually imagining Scrooge McDuck or something, but in this case the beneficiaries are mostly old homeowners. And when it's your grandma saying "that's my nest egg!" about how great high home prices are, it's harder to fix the problem. Grandma wonders why her kids live 5,000 miles away, though. At least my kids' grandma does. For a few years I had a paid off house in the middle of Ireland. (The house was dirt cheap). Sadly it was not a great place for me to live - we did not get on well with the neighbours, among other things - but the feeling that I could tell my boss to go to hell and live for literally multiple years on a single income's worth of savings was powerful. We ended up moving to the Netherlands, which is much better for me overall (I have a lot more in common with the people here, and love biking!) but yet again I need to stress about mortgages, rent, etc. etc. and I miss the freedom I had.

azinman2 3y ago
Are you suggesting some great conspiracy with developers and banks to make less money on purpose by fixing supply in order to have a working style that hypothetically benefits a few unrelated people?
- CalRobert 3y ago
  No, I think that homeowners largely have the ability to make it illegal to build new homes near them, which makes them wealthier. Sometimes it's for reasons like noise, parking, etc. (though I don't really think "it's illegal for you to build a home here because I like free street parking" is moral, but that's another matter), but sometimes it's because new homes - especially apartments - are likely to reduce the cost of housing (aka "bring down my home's value"). If you own a home, you want as many people working as hard as they can to outbid each other when you sell.
  - lotsoweiners 3y ago
    > No, I think that homeowners largely have the ability to make it illegal to build new homes near them, which makes them wealthier How do I get this power? I see this all of the time on this website and Reddit but as a homeowner for nearly 2 decades in multiple cities I have never felt that I have any influence over what gets built and don’t recall seeing anything regarding zoning or specific developments that were up for vote.
    - CalRobert 3y ago
      Vote for people who want to stop "Big Developers" from "Destroying Your Community" with "Condo Towers" (that are 3 story 4-unit buildings like the Victorians people love in Berkeley but whatever). Raise hell at every local planning meeting. Shriek about parking and traffic. Donate to same.

azinman2 3y ago

Are you suggesting some great conspiracy with developers and banks to make less money on purpose by fixing supply in order to have a working style that hypothetically benefits a few unrelated people?

CalRobert 3y ago
No, I think that homeowners largely have the ability to make it illegal to build new homes near them, which makes them wealthier. Sometimes it's for reasons like noise, parking, etc. (though I don't really think "it's illegal for you to build a home here because I like free street parking" is moral, but that's another matter), but sometimes it's because new homes - especially apartments - are likely to reduce the cost of housing (aka "bring down my home's value"). If you own a home, you want as many people working as hard as they can to outbid each other when you sell.
- lotsoweiners 3y ago
  > No, I think that homeowners largely have the ability to make it illegal to build new homes near them, which makes them wealthier How do I get this power? I see this all of the time on this website and Reddit but as a homeowner for nearly 2 decades in multiple cities I have never felt that I have any influence over what gets built and don’t recall seeing anything regarding zoning or specific developments that were up for vote.
  - CalRobert 3y ago
    Vote for people who want to stop "Big Developers" from "Destroying Your Community" with "Condo Towers" (that are 3 story 4-unit buildings like the Victorians people love in Berkeley but whatever). Raise hell at every local planning meeting. Shriek about parking and traffic. Donate to same.