It's not just about sheer numbers but distribution - the areas where they're most needed are the ones that are building the fewest units, exceptions (Seattle, Austin) aside
it's a component but not central afaict. of course it's localized and depends on housing market concentration, major metros see a large share of units held by relatively few entities like Greystar.
I don't know that this would help the market all that much - these are often informal units, not up to code (and not cost effective to remedy), overcrowded (meaning fewer units made available than population share would suggest would come onto the market), and in neighborhoods outside of the core
so many projects got nerfed by NIMBYs during good economic times and now are infeasible. there's more political will for change now but i'm still skeptical things will change much given the cost of construction in major metros.
If depreciation accounts for the gap (difference in share of output vs net income), investing in replacing machines just means that more will accrue to owners of capital in future.
You're making a choice to be resilient - doesn't mean you can't pursue the other course down the line but it's self preservation at this point. I don't think it makes sense to give it a moral valence.
Scotch Bonnet in a tropical hot sauce (carrot, papaya) like Melinda's is killer. It's kind of fun stocking up on peppers from Los Chileros, Booneville Farms, etc and making your own hot sauce or salsa using a Vitamix.
by 'most', do you mean by those grown/consumed or by variety? because there's a vast array of fruits incl. savory (cucumber, tomatoes, avocado) as well as less common - soursop, cherimoya, mulberry, jackfruit, durian, so much more beyond the fructose bombs.
It's my understanding that pensions were quite rare, certainly much more so than 401ks, so at least that expectation might be a bit more rosy than reality.
That's assuming all of your current pay is going to necessities - salaries here pay well in excess provided your 'wants' are few, you can cover the things that matter (housing, food, etc) and get your time back.
what the market delivers and what people want aren't always the same. imo demand is there for smaller dwellings, it's just not profitable enough to get delivered either because of the margin on large spaces / needing to overcome high labor & overhead. i would love to live in an ADU were it to be cheaper than a 1 bed or well sited / modern.
My first few white collar jobs were miserable experiences - stress, temperamental bosses, lack of agency, etc. It got better but that took years of effort, at which point I was already thinking about leanFIRE, compelled by AI (this back in 2018) and climate concerns.