[kmeisthax]

You don't need to go as far as to demand detailed central plans, as if the parent poster is a Soviet tankie. All you have to do is get rid of the already-extant central planning regime that the US has, which is specifically designed to keep land expensive.

Or, in other words: "housing is a human right" does not need to be construed as a positive obligation.

Even if we decided on positive-freedom housing rights, it doesn't mean giving everyone a California beachfront property. This is the thing a lot of Americans don't get about positive rights in other countries: when they exist, it just means that the country is going to use tax money to pay for and provide that good. This works for the same reason that welfare programs work: the existence of a large buyer, even one that's lowballing, provides price stability to suppliers.

California beachfront property can remain expensive, but the houses behind it should be allowed to build up to whatever density that the market will support.

[lotsofpulp]

> Or, in other words: "housing is a human right" does not need to be construed as a positive obligation.

I struggle to think of a way to construe it that is not a positive obligation.

Increasing zoning is not making housing a human right. It is bringing down housing prices, which is great, but it would make words meaningless if it qualified for “housing as a human right”.

On the other hand, the government reimbursing everyone for the annual cost of housing in the 20th percentile of the US is something actionable. For example, if housing at 20th percentile is $12k per year, then everyone gets $12k per year to spend on housing. They can choose to move to wherever they want.

And that example is basically UBI, so might as well just advertise that as the solution.

[noasaservice]

> You don't need to go as far as to demand detailed central plans, as if the parent poster is a Soviet tankie. All you have to do is get rid of the already-extant central planning regime that the US has, which is specifically designed to keep land expensive.

I'm not advocating public execution of billionaires here.

I'm talking about getting rid of companies like RealPage ( https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-r... ) and other companies that either collude information asymmetry or otherwise buy up the market and wait to artificially drive prices higher..

I'm talking about restrictions of companies buying residential dwellings (not corporate dwellings, but im sure that could be gamed).

I'm talking about rent control. I'm aware that's a top-down command approach. Maybe use it as a cap per sqft?

I'm talking about relaxing or eliminating zoning restrictions. Much of them were put in place as a racist plan during the 40's-60's.

I'm talking about having banks *require* including on a mortgage application if you've paid rent for X years at Y rate, that you qualify for a mortgage of the similar terms.

I'm talking about having the mortgage rate be different (LOW) for your primary residence.

I'm talking about converting apartment complexes into a benefit corps run by the people who live there. Again, having people live in dwellings where they reasonably know that they are safe is inherently a great thing, and builds a real community. Problems that arise can be handled by the people who live there, like if a recession hits and 1/10 lose their jobs. (Yes, this is more radical.)

Every one of these changes would enable more people to have their own place to live, and live better how they want to live. Does it solve every problem? Of course not. It's steps to do this. And what I see here in my area, we're going the very wrong way. More and more are going homeless or vanlife every week. And that piece of stability disappears. And it's hard to reestablish once you're in that direction.

It's not just an individual issue - at a certain number, it turns into a societal issue that needs a society-wide solution.