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This is why I am a market urbanist, or a YIMBY.
Let's say there was a food crisis in America that was so bad that thousands of people were dying of starvation and even middle class people were spending half their income on rice, beans, and potatoes just to stay alive.
Let's say there was a food crisis in America that was so bad that thousands of people were dying of starvation and even middle class people were spending half their income on rice, beans, and potatoes just to stay alive.
So you ask around about why this is and you learn that almost every economist agrees that it's because we are not producing enough food. You ask why nobody is making enough food and it turns out that 90% of America's farmable land is being used as spice gardens.
So you think "wow, it must be REALLY profitable to run a spice garden." You look into it, and it turns out that it's not. Most people would rather use that land for actual farming because it would make them more money.
It's just ILLEGAL for them to build farms.
It's just ILLEGAL for them to build farms.
You look into why that is, and it turns out that 90% of the time it's because there are a small group of people who are really invested in making sure there isn't enough food so that their farms become more valuable, or just because they think spice gardens look cuter.
What's your first instinct? Just get rid of those laws?
Is that going to be enough to end the food crisis? No probably not.
Is it going to ensure that food is distributed equitably? No probably not.
But it's obviously step 1, and it has to be done first
Is that going to be enough to end the food crisis? No probably not.
Is it going to ensure that food is distributed equitably? No probably not.
But it's obviously step 1, and it has to be done first
(In Chicago you can just ask your local Lord to let you turn your spice garden into a farm, but they can deny you for absolutely no reason and are never asked to be consistent. Also we have a huge corruption problem, weird huh?)
(Also ideally we would implement a tax on people who horde food in giant vaults but that's a different conversation)
