Sunday, March 05, 2006
Supply and demand not an option
Growth control advocates have always been stymied by the pesky fact that their policies push up housing prices and limit housing affordability -- and hurt families at the lower end of the income distribution most.There are many other areas where the controllers' positions make no sense -- such as the notion that it is a good idea to "get people out of their cars." People like their cars and mobility and choice.
And the externalities can be managed by pricing.
Today's NY Times Magazine covers all this and more in (in "Home Economics"), citing Ed Glaeser and research by him and his colleagues that exposes the costs of a dumb agenda -- one that presumes that paying attention to supply and demand is an option.
We can only hope that the news does not cause fainting spells all the way from Boston to New York.
