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by ComradePhil 1601 days ago
> Somehow we can spend trillions on bailing out businesses and corporations yet we can't muster the strength to build additional housing?

Government "strength" doesn't encourage new buildings, it discourages it. It's extreme regulations which makes building houses expensive and unappealing for investors. So, a big rise in rents and housing prices is required to make it appealing again... which is happening... but it doesn't mean the rent is going to go down in the future.
2 comments
danaris 1601 days ago
One of the primary sources of the problem is that housing is seen as something "for investors", rather than for people to live in.

Government strength should be used to impose prohibitive taxes/fees/whatever you want to call it on people who buy extra housing as investments.

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cobookman 1601 days ago
Government "Strength" could offer zero down no interest loans for converting SFH to triplexes and duplexes. Government "Strength" could fund large scale public commuter rail projects to cheaper, more rural areas. Government "Strength" could inject cash to build lots of housing, similar to what we did with the national highways.

There's much the federal government could do to alleviate the situation.

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