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What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

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Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#261
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The goal is to make the system more fair, not eliminate one of the parties involved. Taking such an extreme position in an argument also doesn't help the situation.

The goal is to make the system more fair, not eliminate one of the parties involved. Taking such an extreme position in an argument also doesn't help the situation. Yet it seems to me at least, that you are taking the extreme position. People are arguing for nuanced improvement, and discussing what issues may arise. You're essentially saying "Enough talk, do random things". In fact, you're saying "do almost anything"…

> The point I made in the other sub-thread, is that many many other countries did that very thing.

If we examine the set of 'many other countries', does it consist 90% of dictatorships, that were already in poverty, and the methods chosen 70% violence?

What if, the aim of these actions was never to improve the economy, but instead was to consolidate power for the dictatorship in question and to remove elites that could pose competition?

What if the set of 'many other countries' is a very unfair example? The author is not suggesting violence, and we do not live in dictatorship?

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden is full of old money, or at least it looks like that from a Finnish perspective. The problem with old money is that if you simply invest the money passively and don't do anything stupid, the next generation is going to be even richer. Both in relative and absolute terms. Being able to live in the most desirable areas is based on relative wealth. If there is a lot of old money, it's harder to make it to the top…

I agree with everything you said. Maybe I should move to Finland! I like sauna and the all the Finns I met were wonderful people!

[deleted]

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#263

It seems like it's the same story everywhere I look. Housing is the main driver of inequality and there is little change happening. We have the same problem here in Germany. I am currently living in Munich to finish my CS Master's at TUM and build a startup, and it is absolutely impossible to find anything remotely affordable. I am supported by two startup scholarships and make enough to get by, but no landlord even…

It's definitely not every city in Germany that has this problem.

You're trying to live in one of the objectively best parts of Germany by a lot of stats and thus you're competing with a lot of folks.

I'm honestly sick of this whining about rent in top-tier areas. Living there is a luxury, given the major move to cities and scarcity, driven by insane regulations and basic logic.

There are plenty of cities in Germany with very cheap rent, where apartment buildings get torn down because they're vacant.

But of course the entitlement seems stronger than the willingness to compromise.

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#264
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way you can tell it's a conspiracy theory is that people talk about the WEF, which has no power other than arranging the name tags on the lunch tables at the gatherings, rather than the actual policy makers making decisions. Try a thought experiment: contravene the will of the World Economic Forum. What happens next? You don't get to go next year? Statistically, that means your company performance will significan…

> no power other than arranging the name tags on the lunch tables The WEF itself would starkly disagree. For more than 50 years, the Forum has engaged global Partners to drive significant impact – creating historic initiatives, industry breakthroughs, economic solutions and tens of thousands of projects and collaborations – improving the state of the world That's a lot more than arranging name tags. https://www.wefor…

That’s not what “power” means. They don’t have the power to force anything to happen outside their little get together.

The only “power” they have is limited to what participants can or can’t do while attending. Such as: they have the power to require attendees wear their name tags as a condition for attending.

(Not sure if that’s actually a thing; it’s merely illustrative)

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#265
post #257
post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So their behaviour is entirely normal?

Well the point is that they are conspiracies, that is, groups of people scheming in secret how they can get more power at everyone else's expense.

The less plausible the theory is, the more plausible it is!

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but even they are not going to tax unrealized capital gains You are completely missing the point of the conversation you started. Everything we're discussing is a hypothetical. In this scenario, they would tax that and everything else. Anyway, I don't think that you're arguing in good faith and I'm moving on with my day. Cheers.

Ironically I feel like you are the one not arguing in good faith. > Everything we're discussing is a hypothetical. In this scenario, they would tax that and everything else Your hypothetical is "the government taxes everything". Then someone asked, "how would that work?" and your response was "everything we're discussing is a hypothetical!". There are many obvious ideas around taxing wealth. The problem is that when…

> Your hypothetical is "the government taxes everything". Then someone asked, "how would that work?" and your response was "everything we're discussing is a hypothetical!"

Because he was mixing reality with the hypothetical. He was saying the IRS doesn't work that way in reality, which has no bearing to the discussions we were having which is a hypothetical. I explicitly stated in a previous comment that the IRS would also evaluate wealth and tax based on that wealth, and then he responds talking about how they don't tax unrealized capital gains. In this scenario they do, so why does that matter?

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#267
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The government doesn't want to do anything Looks like the voters dont want to do anything either, if they keep re-electing the same party/politicians.

All 3 of the major parties are pro huge immigration. Any discussion to the contrary is labelled racist regardless of a housing and healthcare crisis. Businesses underpay and when they can't find people willing to impoverish themselves to work for them, they apply to the government to bring in "temporary foreign workers" - for things like fast food restaurant workers not essential business, keeping the wages down. Tem…

> Temporary foreign workers and international students in canada are allowed to buy housing

What?

Drug lords and warlords are allowed to buy real estate in the west through shell companies registered in tax heavens. It's the same companies that do 'tax optimisation' for our billionaires.

The head of Wagner Prigozhin has passed money laundering check in London while he was under sanctions and wanted by the FBI, he submitted his mother's gas bill.

https://www.ft.com/content/3e1b5bc5-090c-434d-84e4-ca2b120cf...

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#268

It seems like it's the same story everywhere I look. Housing is the main driver of inequality and there is little change happening. We have the same problem here in Germany. I am currently living in Munich to finish my CS Master's at TUM and build a startup, and it is absolutely impossible to find anything remotely affordable. I am supported by two startup scholarships and make enough to get by, but no landlord even…

> We are already looking to move to other places Moving doesn’t necessarily help much. That is because usually house prices are directly driven by how much people can loan on a mortgage, which is directly driven by earnings. Cheaper housing often means lower earnings potential. Conversely, saving in a high earning country can mean you have a deposit for a house in a cheaper country. Edit: Counterintuitively, high int…

I live in rural HongKong where rental is reasonable(by hk standards). Cost of living not too high if you ‘live local’ and don’t bleed money on nonsense like vehicle, clubbing, and ego fueled high life. That said my monthly electricity gone from $1700 to $2400 in 3 years in same place running only one aircon and one dehumidifier to dry washing for family. It’s easy to see the inflation fueled price gouging by business is a global problem. Driving people to choose what and when to eat - sad state of affairs.

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#269
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Housing is the main driver of inequality Low interest rates and endless money is the main driver of inequality. Housing was just one manifestation of the root cause.

why doesn't that apply to stocks though?

Stocks skyrocketed throughout COVID until interest rates started increasing.

Re: What broke Sweden? Real estate bust exposes big divide

#270
post #263

It seems like it's the same story everywhere I look. Housing is the main driver of inequality and there is little change happening. We have the same problem here in Germany. I am currently living in Munich to finish my CS Master's at TUM and build a startup, and it is absolutely impossible to find anything remotely affordable. I am supported by two startup scholarships and make enough to get by, but no landlord even…

It's definitely not every city in Germany that has this problem. You're trying to live in one of the objectively best parts of Germany by a lot of stats and thus you're competing with a lot of folks. I'm honestly sick of this whining about rent in top-tier areas. Living there is a luxury, given the major move to cities and scarcity, driven by insane regulations and basic logic. There are plenty of cities in Germany w…

Are the opportunities in those other cities comparable? I don't know Germany, but usually when I see people saying this about places I do know the answer is a resounding 'no'. So it would seem to be a little more complicated than entitled kids these days who simply will not compromise.
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