Comment on Homelessness rose sharply in the U.S. in 2023, data shows
Wutangforemer@lemmy.world 10 months agoThere are faster and more affordable solutions than “build more housing” or trying to convert commercially zoned property into residential and all the retrofitting that entails. Also, unemployment is at historic lows right now. You are right, though, that is an affordability issue, and housing prices going up over 50% in the last 5 years (and 100% in the last 15) has more to do with it than anything else. Housing is being bought up by massive investment firms like Blackrock, creating scarcity in the market and thus driving up housing costs. These firms have long term aspirations to create a culture of renters, adding to our subscription-based economy and eliminating home ownership which has historically been the pathway to wealth for normal people. Governments could easily step in to address the issue by raising taxes on any entity’s 5th, 6th, 200th, etc residential property and make hoarding homes a bad investment. Those properties would be dumped like any other losing stock on a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, at least in the US, the government officials in charge of making such a decision are financed by the very institutions profiting from the status quo.
NightAuthor@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I’d just critique:
Which definition of “unemployment” are you referring to though?
Im asumming youre referring to the one the whitehouse likes to use, where they count minimum wage part time work as employed, and dont count people who gave up looking for work as unemployed.
Labor participation rates are improved but still relativeWhich definition of “unemployment” are you referring to though?
Im asumming youre referring to the one the whitehouse likes to use, where they count minimum wage part time work as employed, and dont count people who gave up looking for work as unemployed.
Labor participation rates are improved but still relatively low. data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
Wutangforemer@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Yeah that’s the one I was referring to in response to OP, but measure it by whichever indicator you want (federal unemployment numbers, jobs growth, help wanted listing, increasing pay rates, union contract negotiation outcomes). ‘Unemployment’ (nor underemployment, nor labor participation) is not currently indicative as the causation for the housing affordability problem.
WalrusDragonOnABike@kbin.social 10 months ago
Or relatively high, depending on which period you're comparing it to (high compared to 50's, low compared to 90's).