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Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

inpractice.yimbyaction.org

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Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#11

Post by dkjaudyeqooe »

ModernMech wrote: post #8
dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #4

Instead of getting tangled up in social issues, liberal politicians should be prioritizing housing, infrastructure and government services supporting people's economic activity of all kinds. Delivering better lives for people, and having the courage to stand up to vested interests, from house owners to corporations, would create a huge and lasting political win across a broad section of the electorate.

It always comes back to social issues because some people have a problem with policies that support all kinds of economic activities.

Part of the courage needed is not pandering to the left.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#12

Post by xnx »

avidiax wrote: post #9

I think the author has it quite backwards, at least as it comes to housing. Politicians are beholden to the members of their district, not would-be members. Sure, more affordable housing would benefit many people, but it wouldn't benefit the members of the district, particularly the wealthy and powerful, since more affordable housing is very nearly equivalent to real estate values decreasing (at the very least, as pe…

Indeed, it seems the real work of politics is convincing someone that what they want is different from what they currently want.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#13

Post by JansjoFromIkea »

Wasn't Build Back Better meant to be roughly the same kind of objectives, maybe the stated means were different (and less vague) but roughly the same? I haven't paid that much attention to either, mind.

This whole thing feels more like its about getting a snappy word out there than anything achievable.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#14

Post by ceejayoz »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #11
ModernMech wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always comes back to social issues because some people have a problem with policies that support all kinds of economic activities.

Part of the courage needed is not pandering to the left.

If only that was happening as much as the American right thinks it is.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#15

Post by rpastuszak »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #11
ModernMech wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always comes back to social issues because some people have a problem with policies that support all kinds of economic activities.

Part of the courage needed is not pandering to the left.

In what sense?

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#16

Post by CobrastanJorji »

xnx wrote: post #12
avidiax wrote: post #9

I think the author has it quite backwards, at least as it comes to housing. Politicians are beholden to the members of their district, not would-be members. Sure, more affordable housing would benefit many people, but it wouldn't benefit the members of the district, particularly the wealthy and powerful, since more affordable housing is very nearly equivalent to real estate values decreasing (at the very least, as pe…

Indeed, it seems the real work of politics is convincing someone that what they want is different from what they currently want.

That's not necessarily bad. That's leadership.

You can use leadership to do bad things, but you can also use leadership to do good things.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#17

Post by janniekiller »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #11
ModernMech wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always comes back to social issues because some people have a problem with policies that support all kinds of economic activities.

Part of the courage needed is not pandering to the left.

[dead]

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#18

Post by TulliusCicero »

avidiax wrote: post #9

I think the author has it quite backwards, at least as it comes to housing. Politicians are beholden to the members of their district, not would-be members. Sure, more affordable housing would benefit many people, but it wouldn't benefit the members of the district, particularly the wealthy and powerful, since more affordable housing is very nearly equivalent to real estate values decreasing (at the very least, as pe…

I don't see how that contradicts what the author is saying?

More abundant housing would be better for society in general, in the long term. But it's definitely true that less abundant housing can be financially superior for existing landowners right now, I don't think anybody really disputes that.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#20

Post by woah »

A popular view in the YIMBY community is that restrictive zoning and other policies that limit housing are pushed by homeowners who are benefitting from a housing shortage, in some kind of long-range Machiavellian conspiracy to alter macroeconomics in their favor. But this doesn't really hold up when you think about it.

Restrictions on housing expansion are generally very local, with projects being blocked on the municipal level, or on the neighborhood level. But actually, more housing in a neighborhood would tend to benefit homeowners there. As the neighborhood becomes denser, rents might go down, but land values will go up, since a given piece of land can now be used to build a more profitable apartment building.

What is really blocking housing is simply aesthetics, misguided economic and political beliefs, and fear of change.

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