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0 pointspj_mukh1y ago0 comments

"An uptick in construction work will not be an inflation balloon. "

There's a massive shortage in construction workers [1], so yes there will be? The few construction workers we do have can demand higher wages (yay!) but then will they be outbidding other mid-income folks for housing with those increased wages? Sounds like an inflation spiral to me.

My statement wasn't against social housing, I love social housing. We just haven't cracked the code in scaling housing (and subsequent maintenance) yet. And the problem is about 80% political will, billionaire cash is useless here.

[1]: https://www.abc.org/News-Media/News-Releases/abc-2024-constr...

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exceptione1y ago· 3 in thread

On a macro scale, that has hardly any impact, and I think it would be even immeasurable.

It is rather the other way around. Higher rents / house prices will make sure only people with higher wages can afford to live there. That means your bagel or coffee will be more expensive there too.

pj_mukhOP1y ago

I didn’t say macro scale, I said Los Angeles that’s the problem.

Pretty much everything required to build housing, wood, labor, pre-approved land is in a massive shortage that we can’t spend money to fix.

So more money to simple pump demand for all those things will have a massive inflationary impact.

exceptione1y ago

Nope, LA is too much part of the macro economy to make such an impact. Wood and labor doesn't have to come from LA and even if that would double (it won't) there would be a round zero impact on inflation in LA. The land to be build was going to be sold anyways, you just get one bidder more, or several bidders less if the council makes requirements like x% social housing.

Please, forget anything you are worrying about here, it does not apply.

pj_mukhOP1y ago

Literally every problem I mentioned is at its worst state possible. People with millions and billions simply waiting to buy materials or get land approvals. It’s a well know intractable problem [1] and really the crux of the problem.

If just these problems could be solved the state has more than enough funds to house everyone. What billionaires do would be wholly irrelevant (like it is now)

[1] https://www.constructiondive.com/news/construction-materials...

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