Ending Chronic Homelessness

[ijmorlan]

Is it possible to mandate that developers make less profit? Can we force companies to build things at a loss?

Then they’ll go somewhere else that has better profits and we can become the little rust belt that our councillors always wanted!

Profit isn’t bad, it’s how we decide which things get done in our daily lives…

Exactly. Capitalism is in reality the most amazing concept in the history of economics. Instead of rulers deciding what happens, people decide what to do with whatever wealth they have.

The problem comes when it is inappropriately regulated, either too much or too little (or both at once, in different ways). Then you get many problems with negative externalities, anticompetitive behaviour, lock-in, monopolies, some people being able to do anything while others have essentially no choices, and so on. There are also areas where it’s better for all of society to get together and do things together.