Trivially easy refers to the physical act: show up with force. Not that it should be any more "trivially easy" to crack down on than, say, tax evasion - that is

Trivially easy refers to the physical act: show up with force. Not that it should be any more "trivially easy" to crack down on than, say, tax evasion - that is, you'd still have courts, etc. But don't act horrified at that. Eminent domain has been used many times in the US, it's not a novel concept. Foreclosure is also state-sanctioned and common. But there are SIGNIFICANT interests who want to horde real property anonymously. "Fixing zoning" is not a solution to the problems that causes. The large-landlord/acquire-and-leave-vacant-waiting-for-appreciation interests are the very same interests that would BENEFIT from less zoning restrictions and the Manhattanization of more places, and corresponding increase in real property values per sqft of land. But the reason we don't make ownership of property more clear, or crack down on hording, is because those interests don't want us to. "Simpler: a straight wealth tax that funds first time homebuyer incentives." - so we've got more inflation of property prices through financial incentives but actually let's not bother because guess who ALSO doesn't want a "straight wealth tax!" (And, of course, taxes aren't wildly worked around in this country anyway.)