Oddbean

Governments love a housing Ponzi because when houses become money, citizens effectively capital control themselves. It’s the easiest market to regulate new supply in as it’s fully contained within a domestic market so there’s no risk of some new deposit being found overseas which can flood the market to reduce prices, and they can rely on NIMBYism for soft regulation beneath whatever zoning, materials, safety etc hard regs set beyond that. It’s the easiest thing to tax because it can not be hidden and it forms the base for the human hierarchy of needs so it cannot be foregone. And ultimately governments are the ones who decide on ownership - they operate the land registries and adjudicate title disputes through their courts. On top of that, eminent domain is a trump card they can play at any time their own rules aren’t working in their favour. Housing bubbles will forever be inflated and perpetuated by fiat governments to lock in a tax base and keep capital from fleeing their ability to impose violence on dissenters. It gives them a real world physical address to which they can send their armed goons to shakedown their subjects. We haven’t even begun to see the value in #Bitcoin’s ability to be borderless, but when the sovereign game theory begins to play out as fiat systems crumble, this may be the killer feature which drives hyperbitcoinisation as the wealthy seek to move their families to safety whilst bringing their wealth with them. nostr:note1ad3t56wskr6e6d539u7xxg9uqmuxax5jhjuxjge4w3vq49v6v5uq0qcne5