Okay, so you don't understand opportunity cost.
I do. Typically in trade it refers to the financial difference between the course of action that generates the most revenue or profit against the course of action that was actually taken i.e not generating the most revenue or profit.
Which is fine when dealing with straightforward concepts of private enterprise for profit.
But we are not dealing with a for-profit private enterprise issue here. We are dealing with a social issue that requires a public policy. There is no opportunity cost if the public policy, formed through democratic structures, can provide for housing that will, over time, return the cost of that housing to the State.
Oh come on!! You are smarter than that economic argument.....Why doesn't the State just buy everyone a house if it only costs €3000 a year?? Seriously....
Seriously? An argument was made in the last thread that the ‘market rate’ of a 2 bed terrace in Crumlin was about €2,000pm rental.
I don’t have all the detail to hand here, but the type of house that was used in the example was typical of the type of social housing that was built in the 1930’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
The price of such a house in the 1970’s was no more than €30,000. Such a house would be approaching 50yrs old at this stage, if not more. The private market sale price today starts at about €250,000. Presumably anyone paying that amount today is reasonably expecting that the property will last another 50yrs, if not more.
The State, being here before I was born, and I expect that it will be here when Im gone, is in the luxurious position that any costs borne by it (or rather the citizens) can be accounted for far longer periods than the average lifetime of its citizens. That’s how the State can embark on massive capital programs such as building airports, introducing electricity to every home,
http://ireland2050.ie/past/electricity/ which cannot be taken on by individual citizens nor offered by private enterprise.
So such a house, lasting 100yrs or more will cost the State nothing more than the equivalent of €300 per year – this is simple maths. You can add in maintenance and repairs, for arguments sake, lets say over those 100yrs, a cost of €300,000 – even at that, it still only costs the State €3,300 per year for the construct, maintenance and repair of that house.
The problem today is that we have, as a matter of public policy, outsourced the construction of housing to the private market. It has failed to provide a sustainable housing provision for the population – in boom times too many houses were built in the wrong locations, in austere times not enough houses were built.
Housing is a social necessity first and foremost for any civilised and developed country. Housing however is now considered as a commodity to be bought and sold for profit or loss. It is a failed policy.
By no means am I against anyone wanting to buy and sell their property for profit, that is their business. But the business interests of an individual, a landlord, or property company are not in the interests of society as a whole. The State needs to intervene to provide an adequate supply of housing for the population first and foremost, in turn, providing for a sustainable market that does not extort those in private rental accommodation or drown in mortgage debt those that buy privately.
Fintan O’Toole explains it better than I ever could;
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/...is-matter-of-ideology-not-economics-1.2397695
At least we are living in a society where these views are firmly in the minority and history is littered with failed socialist and communist regimes!
That's funny, since the only one advocating anything that has zero support across the developed world is yourself. The last time there was organized movement of people was when Hitler and Stalin were in charge.
