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Housing, housing, housing. The answer is always housing. The cost of housing in NYC (and other desirable areas) is so egregious that it's nearly impossible for

Housing, housing, housing. The answer is always housing. The cost of housing in NYC (and other desirable areas) is so egregious that it's nearly impossible for people to live there who aren't rich. So if you're in a line of work that isn't scalable by means of automation, there are a whole host of jobs that can't afford to live in places where folks who can scale their output have taken up all the scarce resources. This story has repeated itself time and time again across different cities and jobs (e.g. super expensive resort destinations where people like cleaners, retail workers, waitstaff, ski instructors, etc. can no longer afford to live there), and the root cause solution is nearly always the same: build more housing. And then build some more.

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slothtrop 3y ago
I agree that it's downstream from housing. Canada is learning this lesson harshly.
amluto 3y ago
I would extend that to cost of living in general. If you want services from local people, you need to pay them enough to live locally, which includes housing, food, healthcare, taxes, and their childcare, too.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  But my primary point is most of the other things that lead to a high cost of living in a particular area are all downstream from housing. The high cost of childcare and food in some locales are a direct result of the high cost of housing. Healthcare (in the US at least) is a whole separate horrible mess.
  - amluto 3y ago
    I’m not convinced that healthcare really counts as being downstream from housing. The ludicrous utility pricing in some places (PG&E territory in California, for example) also appears to be its own special disaster that is largely independent of housing or even labor prices in CA.
    - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
      > I’m not convinced that healthcare really counts as being downstream from housing. Yes, agreed, that's what I meant by "Healthcare (in the US at least) is a whole separate horrible mess."

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slothtrop 3y ago

I agree that it's downstream from housing. Canada is learning this lesson harshly.

amluto 3y ago

I would extend that to cost of living in general. If you want services from local people, you need to pay them enough to live locally, which includes housing, food, healthcare, taxes, and their childcare, too.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
But my primary point is most of the other things that lead to a high cost of living in a particular area are all downstream from housing. The high cost of childcare and food in some locales are a direct result of the high cost of housing. Healthcare (in the US at least) is a whole separate horrible mess.
- amluto 3y ago
  I’m not convinced that healthcare really counts as being downstream from housing. The ludicrous utility pricing in some places (PG&E territory in California, for example) also appears to be its own special disaster that is largely independent of housing or even labor prices in CA.
  - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
    > I’m not convinced that healthcare really counts as being downstream from housing. Yes, agreed, that's what I meant by "Healthcare (in the US at least) is a whole separate horrible mess."