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Should’ve been called “why real estate speculation destroys economies,” since that is the root cause here.

Definitely public works would be more affordable if real estate and rents weren't being artificially inflated. Because a big part of the cost is acquiring rights and labor costs.

I think root cause is capitalism (neoliberalism) and concentration of wealth.

The wealthy people have all the money and for them, it doesn't look like that improving infrastructure and "building" will make them more money, so why should they want to do that?

I'm glad to hear that you're in the camp of "Capitalism has failed to build badly needed housing" because it seems like so many anti-capitalists are in the camp of "Capitalism has built enough housing".

These are not mutually exclusive, the reason why is something being built matters. Capitalism can build a lot of housing as an "investment", but it doesn't mean that type of housing will meaningfully improve lives of people who need it. And that's what the complaint "America doesn't build" is really about.

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