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What distinguishes apparently “enlightened boomers in Austin from the greedy not-in-my-neighborhood boomers in San Francisco? Does it really make sense to set t

What distinguishes apparently “enlightened boomers in Austin from the greedy not-in-my-neighborhood boomers in San Francisco? Does it really make sense to set this up as boomers vs millennials? Mark Z is merely 42 and has a decent house or two in the Bay Area. Is he building condos for his millennial employees on his back-lot? This has been a problem for at least 50 years. Junior faculty at Stanford or even Santa Crus could not afford houses in 1975. Was that the era of boomers versus the greatest generation? Did the greatest generation suck capital from their poor boomer hippy children? These simplistic dichotomies lead to nothing as much as unwarranted and misplaced social friction. The fundamental problem is a damaging imbalance in wealth.

anonym29 2y ago
You've both got the wrong dichotomy here, it's not about age groups at all, it's about politics - this is a voluntarily-created "problem". California is handicapped in housing construction due to state-level policies implemented by well-meaning progressives, largely focused around reducing negative externalities. Texas isn't handicapped in housing construction, largely due to state-level policies implemented by greedy capitalists. The greedy capitalists are better at serving customers (prospective homebuyers) than they are at managing negative externalities. This is a policy choice reflective of the values of the people who live there. The well-meaning progressives are better at managing negative externalities than they are at serving customers (prospective homebuyers). This is a policy choice reflective of the values of the people who live there. The reality is, there is no housing "problem" in California, there are only the consequences of the values and preferences of the people living there. Texas's values and preferences carry consequences of their own that Texans have to live with (ask me how I know), but housing unaffordability is, compared to California, not one of them.

anonym29 2y ago

You've both got the wrong dichotomy here, it's not about age groups at all, it's about politics - this is a voluntarily-created "problem". California is handicapped in housing construction due to state-level policies implemented by well-meaning progressives, largely focused around reducing negative externalities. Texas isn't handicapped in housing construction, largely due to state-level policies implemented by greedy capitalists. The greedy capitalists are better at serving customers (prospective homebuyers) than they are at managing negative externalities. This is a policy choice reflective of the values of the people who live there. The well-meaning progressives are better at managing negative externalities than they are at serving customers (prospective homebuyers). This is a policy choice reflective of the values of the people who live there. The reality is, there is no housing "problem" in California, there are only the consequences of the values and preferences of the people living there. Texas's values and preferences carry consequences of their own that Texans have to live with (ask me how I know), but housing unaffordability is, compared to California, not one of them.