Saikat Chakrabarti

So it's this whole other mindset we really need to get into to try to figure out how to make sure the houses get built. Zephyr, what's your take on this?

So it's this whole other mindset we really need to get into to try to figure out how to make sure the houses get built. Zephyr, what's your take on this?

First off, you know, just in the San Francisco versus Texas example that we're talking about, I just want to make like one sort of point there. Because Austin, which is a city that people refer to a lot where they did a lot of streamlined permitting. Construction went up, rents went down, really good. But it wasn't actually enough. The 50% of Austin's population is still cost burdened by rent.

First off, you know, just in the San Francisco versus Texas example that we're talking about, I just want to make like one sort of point there. Because Austin, which is a city that people refer to a lot where they did a lot of streamlined permitting. Construction went up, rents went down, really good. But it wasn't actually enough. The 50% of Austin's population is still cost burdened by rent.

And now construction slowed down because part of the reason costs went down was a lot of people left Austin at that time. It started having net migration out of Austin. And so now what happens, right? I think there's another example of just doing the permitting streamlining isn't going to be a silver bullet. But when you're talking about costs, there's not one simple answer.

And now construction slowed down because part of the reason costs went down was a lot of people left Austin at that time. It started having net migration out of Austin. And so now what happens, right? I think there's another example of just doing the permitting streamlining isn't going to be a silver bullet. But when you're talking about costs, there's not one simple answer.

I think the optimism here that I have is you look at Europe, you know, Europe can build stuff way faster and way cheaper than us. They have a way more unionized labor force. And I think what I wish we had in America was, I wish we had large, you know, union bargaining deals in a sectoral way, the way many European countries do, and do this at a society way.

I think the optimism here that I have is you look at Europe, you know, Europe can build stuff way faster and way cheaper than us. They have a way more unionized labor force. And I think what I wish we had in America was, I wish we had large, you know, union bargaining deals in a sectoral way, the way many European countries do, and do this at a society way.

I wish we didn't have to jam all these requirements into legislation because we had actual societal solutions for it. But I think it's possible, you know, and the other thing Europe does is on a lot of these process questions, they empower their agencies to have more power to actually make decisions, right?

I wish we didn't have to jam all these requirements into legislation because we had actual societal solutions for it. But I think it's possible, you know, and the other thing Europe does is on a lot of these process questions, they empower their agencies to have more power to actually make decisions, right?

And sometimes we over-index on how much the process is getting in the way because what you see in a lot of cases is We add process, but stuff still gets built. You know, China, in the 1980s, when it was going through massive amounts of development, bringing in American companies, made those companies jump through all kinds of hoops.

And sometimes we over-index on how much the process is getting in the way because what you see in a lot of cases is We add process, but stuff still gets built. You know, China, in the 1980s, when it was going through massive amounts of development, bringing in American companies, made those companies jump through all kinds of hoops.

You know, they had to train up Chinese workers, they had to do joint ventures with Chinese companies. But it's this overall mindset, we actually have to get this stuff done, that was different there. I think that's the bigger thing that's missing. It's, you know, even in Europe, they have timelines on how long these environmental reviews can take. And in America...

You know, they had to train up Chinese workers, they had to do joint ventures with Chinese companies. But it's this overall mindset, we actually have to get this stuff done, that was different there. I think that's the bigger thing that's missing. It's, you know, even in Europe, they have timelines on how long these environmental reviews can take. And in America...

The bigger thing that's happened is we've let open-ended lawsuits and this general kind of culture of letting things languish forever take over.

The bigger thing that's happened is we've let open-ended lawsuits and this general kind of culture of letting things languish forever take over.

My theory for why America and Europe ended up differently is Europe actually did their post-war boom and all that development in a more democratic way than we did. We had this Robert Moses era, where we didn't get a lot of public buy-in. We did demolish a bunch of communities, and then we got the backlash, and now we can't build for 50 years.

My theory for why America and Europe ended up differently is Europe actually did their post-war boom and all that development in a more democratic way than we did. We had this Robert Moses era, where we didn't get a lot of public buy-in. We did demolish a bunch of communities, and then we got the backlash, and now we can't build for 50 years.

Whereas Europe, I think, took more of an approach of trying to bring society in through this development. But I think the larger theory of why everywhere is stagnating I think countries have to go through these periods of renewal where they really go for it. And all the European democracies did this in peacetime post-war, right, when they're doing their booms.

Whereas Europe, I think, took more of an approach of trying to bring society in through this development. But I think the larger theory of why everywhere is stagnating I think countries have to go through these periods of renewal where they really go for it. And all the European democracies did this in peacetime post-war, right, when they're doing their booms.