I really am starting to think that it starts and stops at the cost of housing ("The rent is too damm high"). CPI VASTLY underestimates that impact because of the way it is calculated. It disproportionately hits younger people (fixed rate mortgage holders perversely LOVE rising housing costs in the immediate term). It drives inflation in industries where a ton of the inputs are the cost of labor (healthcare, childcare, other services) as people need a place to live. It drives our homeless crisis in the sense that lack of cheap housing makes the social disfunction very public rather than mostly private.
And it is also a REALLY challenging problem to solve with lots of constraints and trade offs.
But I am near certain that you can not solve the "affordability" crisis that all the polling says is leading to voter crackiness without finding a way to bend the curve of housing cost.
BTW - IT really is ONLY supply. I have done the math for you. Over the past decade the ratio of "jobs to housing" in the state of California has gotten dramatically worse. In many of our metros 3.0+ net new jobs chasing every net new home. You don't need to be an economist to know that isn't sustainable. On this point I am not going to argue with you unless you bring real data to the table to show that supply has been sufficient. Your opinions about the ugly new apartment building near your boomer SFH suburbia is IRRELEVANT. Happy (and love) diving into the data but I will not engage or respond to the worst fo the Nimby crap. ;-)
PS. The WHY it has gotten worse is really interesting. That is worth discussing. But you and flat out wrong to say it hasn't.
And it is also a REALLY challenging problem to solve with lots of constraints and trade offs.
But I am near certain that you can not solve the "affordability" crisis that all the polling says is leading to voter crackiness without finding a way to bend the curve of housing cost.
BTW - IT really is ONLY supply. I have done the math for you. Over the past decade the ratio of "jobs to housing" in the state of California has gotten dramatically worse. In many of our metros 3.0+ net new jobs chasing every net new home. You don't need to be an economist to know that isn't sustainable. On this point I am not going to argue with you unless you bring real data to the table to show that supply has been sufficient. Your opinions about the ugly new apartment building near your boomer SFH suburbia is IRRELEVANT. Happy (and love) diving into the data but I will not engage or respond to the worst fo the Nimby crap. ;-)
PS. The WHY it has gotten worse is really interesting. That is worth discussing. But you and flat out wrong to say it hasn't.
