You like Airbnb? Sure, sure, great. Would you like Airbnb as much if you knew that its mere existence was costing you, personally, an extra thousand bucks a year in rent?

Much of the state of California is in the midst of a housing crisis. The reason for that housing crisis is simple: there is not enough housing. But given a golden opportunity to change the law to allow the construction of much more housing, the state lost its nerve.

How fucked up is the American housing market, one of the biggest drivers of inequality? In many cities, the financial reward for owning a home is even bigger than the reward for having a job.

The New York City Housing Authority oversees 176,000 apartments in our city, making it the nation’s largest public housing authority. It needs to spend so much money on repairs. So much money. The number is very big.

The rent is too damn high. It’s hard to find a good place to live. Why? Because they don’t exist!

There are two ways to build enough housing for all the people: The government can do it, or private developers can. One is expensive, and the other is often inadequate. But is there a brilliant grand bargain to be had? Indeed.

Due to the combination of explosive jobs growth and a stubborn refusal to build enough housing to accommodate everyone, the San Francisco/ Silicon Valley area is mired in an insane housing crisis. How bad is this housing crisis? Punchline ahead!!!!