[axblount]

The western world gets cheap food because it exploits the labor and resources of the less fourtunate.

Real estate investment is a direct example of wealth concentration. The less wealthy pay a richer individuals rent plus a little profit on top. That person should be able to buy the dwelling directly without a middleman extracting profit.

[closedloop129]

>The western world gets cheap food because it exploits the labor and resources of the less fourtunate.

This is true for vegetables and fruits. But the core calories come from corn and grain that is cheap because of industrialization. The US don't rely on an army of slaves to export soy to China.

Equally, housing could be much cheaper if a bigger share of construction would be industrialized.

[carom]

Let's say you can build a rental unit for 300k. Third parties can't do this now. So individuals can come together, form a collective (LLC), and fund the development of a building they will live in.

Let's say they need 10% down only to do that construction. 30k each. What is the stat, 50% of people have less than 5k in the bank?

It took me 1 year of working with no college debt to save up 20k for a house. That was fast. Where do I live until I have 30k to build? My family? I was working on the other side of the country. What if you don't have family? You are homeless until you can afford to build?

[dleslie]

Housing used to be cheap for the same reasons food was. General contractors and laborers didn't make much, and were subject to serious risk of bodily injury.

Nowadays they're paid well, and that is reflected in the cost to build.

Folks wanting to go back to cheap housing are arguing to reduce the compensation for builders.