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Notes -
This is directionally supporting, not opposing, but
I don't think anything in this vision prevents you from buying index funds, which will build wealth faster than alternatives. Real estate has appreciated over the recent past, but YIMBYs would argue it's just because local governments restrict good land use and properties in desirable locations are effectively taxi medallions.
"But stocks are just an abstraction that depends on the global economy!" Yeah, so is your property, you own it because the legal system and culture think you do and your use of it depends on your remote developer job.
I don't think so. Upzoning increases land value, because you can build more valuable structures on land zoned for higher density. The main reason housing has appreciated is a combination of high-skilled workers centralizing in a relative handful of cities, and falling interest rates driving up asset prices. When your asset purchases are highly leveraged (e.g. ten to one on a mortgage with 10% down), this can be extremely lucrative.
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Stocks allow your accumulated wealth to grow and hopefully to outpace inflation. But you need spare cash to accumulate in the first place.
When someone else is siphoning a bit of the “surplus” of each use of the countless pieces of capital I've accumulated, that opens up much more opportunity for companies to squeeze me to my absolute limit. What is the most you will bear to rent utensils this afternoon? (It's deeply colonialist of you to assume eating with your fingers is “unsanitary”, anyway, so it's a public good to discourage their use.)
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