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14 sats \ 1 reply \ @xz 23 Sep \ parent \ on: Will the Trump $100k H1B Visa Change have Unintended Consequences? econ
Agree that these broad policy changes are needed. Not sure whether the 'non-productive' part is the problem. Housing, to my mind, is a huge problem because
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Skewing the supply/demand metrics and encouraging speculation. Inflating the demand for housing, and simultaneously creating ill-designed new supply, is not working well, people need communities.
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Demand: Housing is a basic survival utility for every person, not just per household (some people do not have families cannot co-habit etc.) so, demand should be priority.
So yeah, when governments break the basic utilitarian needs of most people, with price [x] earnings multiples ,of lowest cost housing supply, it's basically acting against the wishes of its people. Income generation through skills and education would come with community.
The reasoning behind fiat money banking is this-
You can create new money when you create funding for productive investments that are likely to increase the net wealth creation of the economy.
If this occurs then the debasement that results whenever fiat money is created via debt is compensated for.
Commercial banks ability to issue fiat debt money/finance was based upon their claim to be able to assess investment proposals and to gauge the probability these proposals could succeed in being profitable and thus increasing the net wealth of the economy.
But neoliberal deregulation removed that requirement- commercial banks were now allowed to issue fiat debt finance toward any purpose- one likely to create wealth or one that is purely non productive speculation.
Guess what happened since that deregulation- a whole lot of fiat debt funding poured into housing and other non productive purposes that do not increase the wealth of the economy.
And a whole lot less funding of potentially productive investment proposals because why would bankers take that risk when funding housing is almost zero risk...
Yes there was the GFC where even the low risk of housing mortgages was realised, but since the 1980s there has been a huge shift away from banks funding productive investments and a huge shift into funding non productive speculation- because they could.
Prior to neoliberal deregulation they couldn't do that but since they have and the wests productive assets and infrastructure have steadily declined while parasitic rentseeking housing bubbles have inflated and sucked wealth out of the economy...only kept inflated by more and more debt.
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