
Planet Money on Bay Area Housing Costs - akanet
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/07/27/633238360/episode-856-yes-in-my-backyard
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true_tuna
Here’s a crazy idea. Every time a city in California permits construction to
add a job, the city has to permit construction for a home.

Mountain View spent a decade adding Google jobs while adding zero new places
for the workers live. Now everyone scratches their heads about why the traffic
on 101 is absurd. There’s a vacant lot smack in the middle of Google campus
zoned for hotel. Permit a residential high rise in that lot and see what
happens.

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dredmorbius
Land value tax.

Prop 13 is destroying California.

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justinzollars
“local governments have made it hard to build housing” “self inflicted
shortage” “restrictive zoning” “local councils get involved that can file
endless appeals” “Governments create a housing shortage”

^ Real Issue

#TechCafeterias

^ Fake Issue

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mothers
I disagree that there's a crisis. There are _many_ tech workers who can afford
to pay the prices. I agree that there are also _many_ dysfunctional zoning
practices as well as laws (Proposition 13).

People have 3 options in general:

1\. Make more money.

2\. Leave.

3\. Endure.

Option 1 is what a large fraction of the Bay Area has done. Whether or not
it's a bubble is another conversation. It's pretty much clear that Bay Area
tech jobs pay more than anywhere else on the planet. Even when taking into
account the cost of living, you will save more money in absolute terms living
in the Bay Area than anywhere else.

Option 2 is already happening [1].

Option 3 is the strange thing. If people hate the prices and general cost of
living that much, why won't they leave? Temperate weather, job opportunities
and family are many reasons among the many. Regardless, these factors are
already factored into the price. By staying one simply reinforces the positive
qualities while having no stake (home ownership).

The conclusion is there is no crisis. As far as the backward laws and zoning
policies. Don't hold your breath -- for Prop 13 in particular that's state
wide and the majority of Californians own [2]. As for zoning -- let's just say
there's zero incentive for it to be relaxed.

Summary: make more money or leave. Sorry. The irony is that the logic of the
people who insist people should be able to live in their own community for
_reasons_ is the same that resulted in Prop 13 and in making zoning laws
strict to prevent newcomers -- who would change the community from what the
original migrants had when they arrived. The preservationist entitled attitude
is the problem. If people just left the problem would resolve itself. Teachers
would be paid more to prevent mass leaving, etc. etc.

[1]
[https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265?platform=ho...](https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/265?platform=hootsuite)

[2]
[https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ca/PST045217](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ca/PST045217)

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ajmurmann
Yeah, all those people who drive my Lyft, deliver my Good Eggs, Rabbit my
Tasks or teach my children in public school and those nurses should just
commute every day from Modesto or Dublin! Or you know maybe just move away if
they are too poor.

~~~
mothers
Yes, exactly. No one is _entitled_ to live anywhere. Don't be ridiculous. If
they were willing to move they would accordingly become scarce and therefore
more valuable and an equilibrium would met. By staying they are simply harming
themselves -- to what end? Plenty of people move away from the Bay Area for
cost reasons.

This is the same dilemma that has inhibited them from gaining leverage
politically that would resolve the zoning issues.

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saagarjha
Where should the non-tech workers of the Bay Area live?

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scarface74
They should leave the Bay Area. I wouldn’t go near the Bay Area to live. I
have a nice comfortable life in a major metro area in a good school system
where my mortgage on my brand new build 3000 square foot house is around
$2000.

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saagarjha
Well, _someone_ has to run essential services, right? Who's going to teach?
Who's going to work in the services industry?

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scarface74
If more people left, they would have to pay more.

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jinushaun
But where would this end? Where does this money come from to pay them? More
taxes for the SAME service at HIGHER cost? I moved from SF to NY and I feel
like my high taxes benefit me much more directly than SF.

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scarface74
The free market should sort itself out. If the taxes go up, either salaries
will go up or companies won’t be able to find workers because people won’t be
willing to move there.

If companies decide that it’s not worth it to be in Silicon Valley, the demand
for housing will go down as will the prices.

Sooner or later salaries/housing prices/employment opportunities/taxes will
come into balance.

