There is one passage worthy of consideration in the interview of Joel Kotkin about his book on neofeudalism at RealClearPolitics:
If there was a California “miracle,†and I think it was true, it is now occurring increasingly elsewhere. For a dedicated Californian this is very painful. I still believe California has the resources and know-how to create a functioning social democracy based on work, not welfare, but there is little political support for what would be something of a return to the old Pat Brown policies of nurturing growth and the middle class. The greens, the greedy, self-absorbed oligarchs and the government clerisy have no interest in developing an independent citizenry; they want numbed subjects they can rule and cajole with little restraint.
The notion that you can maintain a viable economy just by building and selling houses, much of the muscle power being supplied by Mexican workers has always been fundamentally flawed. Some major fortunes were built that way, however.
He complains about high housing prices but does not mention zoning. It is a big blind spot I see with Kotkin’s writing.
Northern CA has some of the most successful companies in the world but it is one of the worst places in the country to build new housing. What does he expect when there is high demand and little increase in supply?
Zoning is not something made up by some disinterested bureaucrats somewhere. It is is done to make current property holders happy, mostly the ones with the most influence. The old, rich people are happy.
Steve