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objectimpermanence t1_j9py529 wrote

Reply to comment by pixel_of_moral_decay in Want to know why NY metro housing is expensive? Answer in NYTimes OP-ED by Blecher_onthe_Hudson

Yes, wages have not kept up with productivity gains.

But there is more to the story than induced housing demand.

You can build all the new housing you want in Camden or Detroit or Gary, Indiana. But the presence of new housing by itself isn't enough to make people flock to live in those places. People want to live where there are jobs and economic opportunity.

The problem in the NYC metro area is pretty simple. There are tons of good jobs and lots of economic opportunity here. It's one of the most economically productive regions in the country. But we aren't building enough new housing to accommodate the people who want to live here.

All of that means that the NYC metro area ultimately isn't living up to its full potential. Opening a new business like a restaurant or a retail store is that much harder when you have to pay your workers enough to afford exorbitant rents that are propped up by exclusionary zoning rules.

Silicon Valley is an interesting example of that. There has been a massive transfer of wealth going on there from young tech workers to landlords and incumbent property owners due to rampant NIMBYism that has restricted the housing supply there. People who happened to buy a house there 40 years ago and then did nothing to it are walking away with millions of dollars today. It makes no sense.

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PixelSquish t1_j9q7v5a wrote

THe people that downvoted you are morons.

As a progressive I fight for higher wages, universal healthcare, affordable daycare and mandatory paid vacations and sick days for all. I also realize that we need to build a ton of housing, and as you say, not just anywhere, but where people need and want to live. That is the only way we can solve our housing price crisis.

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objectimpermanence t1_j9qz0b3 wrote

Agreed. As a registered Democrat, I have to say that Democrats' inability to take serious actions to deal the housing crisis in major cities is a major embarrassment.

I roll my eyes anytime anytime things like expanded rent control get floated as potential solutions. SF, which probably has the strongest tenant "protections" in the country has already tried that along with a bunch of other band aid hippy-dippy solutions and they have all failed horribly.

Every time someone gets priced out of an expensive Blue state and moves to a suburb in a Sunbelt state is a win for Republicans.

It is one of THE defining social issues of our time. Inability to access affordable housing is at the root so many problems in our country. It is very disappointing that our most "progressive" cities have let this problem get so out of hand.

People need to stop making emotional arguments about the big evil landlords and developers and listen to the experts. Our major cities need more housing plain and simple.

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PixelSquish t1_j9r1ij3 wrote

Perfectly said. It's an area where Democrats and Republicans are an agreement, by being nimby's. Republicans are all for small small government, but when it comes to strictly dictating What you can do on most of the land rather drastically, They are all of a sudden big government lovers.

Then you have liberals who are all about a more equitable society with wages and health care and housing but when it comes to the one solution that will actually help housing prices, building more were people actually need and want to live, they quickly change their minds about everybody's problems.

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