Another article bemoaning the housing crisis, and another one drawing the same tired conclusion:

The crisis of housing affordability took years to emerge, and it'll take years to solve.

Yea, great, so what are we supposed to do in the meantime?

Now, he does point out Socialized Housing is an essential:

Whitzman was also quick and careful to point out that nonmarket housing is an essential part of any answer to the problem. In the United States, the idea of a green social housing development authority provides some hope for tackling two problems at once: housing and climate change. In Vienna, Austria, rents are much lower than similar cities in Europe thanks to its 220,000 socialized housing units.

Not sure where this green social housing development authority idea is coming from or who is promoting it?   This is the first time I've heard anything about it.  The example of Vienna though has merit.

The reason WHY not getting socialized housing going is brought up:

Shortcuts run the risk of tanking existing equity and the fortunes of those who rely on their biggest asset to make it to and through retirement.

As I mentioned with the Thought Experiment of the Free Basic Container Housing idea, if you offer TRULY affordable housing to everyone, then it will tank the value of housing all the way up the line until you get to the luxury housing for the elite, because nobody would move out of the free or even just low cost socialized housing until their incomes were really high, otherwise the upgrade in your living standard isn't worth the 50% of your take home pay it costs.  So we are protecting the value of the Boomers homes so they have a comfortable retirement at the expense of having affordable housing for Millenials.

What really pisses me off here is the "Enough Already!" title of this article when it's just another contribution to what we already have enough of, which is people moaning about it, saying it will take years to solve and then not really doing anything to get it solved.  They identify the CAUSE of the problem which is the financialization of housing and treating it as an asset which can be used for profit rather than as a social obligation and fundamental right of all the members of the society.  Their long term solution is "years of rising incomes and stable prices to really make a difference".  Where on the horizon are years of rising incomes coming from when we have had DECADES of falling incomes and rising prices, and nothing systemic is being done to change that dynamic?

So, once again, short of Revolution and/or Collapse, this problem is not gtting solved anytime soon and we'll keep on getting more of what we have already had more than enough of.

https://jacobin.com/2024/07/housing-crisis-homelessness-financialization

RE