Ezra Klein

The single biggest item in virtually every household's budget is the home they live in. It's the rent. It's the mortgage. So there's a new RAND report. It came out after my book was written. It found it costs four times as much, more than four times actually, per square foot to produce publicly subsidized affordable housing.

The single biggest item in virtually every household's budget is the home they live in. It's the rent. It's the mortgage. So there's a new RAND report. It came out after my book was written. It found it costs four times as much, more than four times actually, per square foot to produce publicly subsidized affordable housing.

So the public affordable housing that I think the left supports in California as it costs to produce a square foot of market rate housing in Texas. This is to both of you. Maybe I'll start with you, Shai Khad, because you're in California. Why do you think that is?

So the public affordable housing that I think the left supports in California as it costs to produce a square foot of market rate housing in Texas. This is to both of you. Maybe I'll start with you, Shai Khad, because you're in California. Why do you think that is?

But California versus Texas.

But California versus Texas.

Why is it 4x more? If you just look at market rate housing, California, it's more than 2x more in Texas per square foot. Why?

Why is it 4x more? If you just look at market rate housing, California, it's more than 2x more in Texas per square foot. Why?

It just seems unlikely to me that California would be much more porous to corporate power than Texas.

It just seems unlikely to me that California would be much more porous to corporate power than Texas.

So, I mean, you cannot cover housing in California or New York City where you and I now live. and not find a huge amount of nimbyism. Or, I mean, Rick Caruso is currently suing. He's using the California Environmental Quality Act to sue to stop a development next to one of his malls, which implies to me there's something wrong with the California Environmental Quality Act.

So, I mean, you cannot cover housing in California or New York City where you and I now live. and not find a huge amount of nimbyism. Or, I mean, Rick Caruso is currently suing. He's using the California Environmental Quality Act to sue to stop a development next to one of his malls, which implies to me there's something wrong with the California Environmental Quality Act.

But I think where, the reason I'm grounding us here, one is housing is a big deal. It has been interesting to me to see many of my friends on the left sort of yada, yada, yada housing. It's like, no, of course we all agree on that. I'm not sure we all agree. And I want to come back to the question of financing. But the reason I bring it up is I actually think power is incredibly important here.

But I think where, the reason I'm grounding us here, one is housing is a big deal. It has been interesting to me to see many of my friends on the left sort of yada, yada, yada housing. It's like, no, of course we all agree on that. I'm not sure we all agree. And I want to come back to the question of financing. But the reason I bring it up is I actually think power is incredibly important here.

But power is very much related to process. And I think we all would probably agree that the way we do regulations now has created this feasting capacity for special interests. It's very easy for them to come in and delay.

But power is very much related to process. And I think we all would probably agree that the way we do regulations now has created this feasting capacity for special interests. It's very easy for them to come in and delay.

And in particular for corporate interests because they can hire the lobbyists, the lawyers. But one of the reasons that I'm very focused on the way we have created process vitocracy is it creates entry points for all kinds of incumbent players.

And in particular for corporate interests because they can hire the lobbyists, the lawyers. But one of the reasons that I'm very focused on the way we have created process vitocracy is it creates entry points for all kinds of incumbent players.

Sometimes it's corporations, sometimes it's unions, sometimes it's local homeowners, sometimes it's people I am allied with, sometimes people I'm not allied with. But what it isn't

Sometimes it's corporations, sometimes it's unions, sometimes it's local homeowners, sometimes it's people I am allied with, sometimes people I'm not allied with. But what it isn't