Conservatives say the solution is less regulation, but NY regulations are among the most liberal in the country even when they are enforced.
Liberals say the problem is too little government intervention in the market, and too little spending on housing. But we have more intervention, and more spending, than everyone else.
The truth is there are three kinds of places. Densly built areas in decline, where housing is cheap (Detroit, Cleveland). Expanding areas with lots of land, where supply can meet demand so housing is cheap (Texas, Phoenix, etc). And land-constrained areas that are desirable. There, prices will be high. You can give some people priviledge, but you can't bring the relative price down.
All three areas are heading for a crash, for different reasons -- economic collapse for one, overbuilding for two, and price just getting unsustainably high in the third case.
One might say the solution is for Philly to become a viable place again, but it doesn't seem to happen. In any even, for the moment NYC is affordable to the poor, because our poverty rate is high. But as I'm written elsewhere, we'll have to see what the data says next August.
Conservatives say the solution is less regulation, but NY regulations are among the most liberal in the country even when they are enforced.
Liberals say the problem is too little government intervention in the market, and too little spending on housing. But we have more intervention, and more spending, than everyone else.
The truth is there are three kinds of places. Densly built areas in decline, where housing is cheap (Detroit, Cleveland). Expanding areas with lots of land, where supply can meet demand so housing is cheap (Texas, Phoenix, etc). And land-constrained areas that are desirable. There, prices will be high. You can give some people priviledge, but you can't bring the relative price down.
All three areas are heading for a crash, for different reasons -- economic collapse for one, overbuilding for two, and price just getting unsustainably high in the third case.
One might say the solution is for Philly to become a viable place again, but it doesn't seem to happen. In any even, for the moment NYC is affordable to the poor, because our poverty rate is high. But as I'm written elsewhere, we'll have to see what the data says next August.