Re:Marc Andreessen interview
by nostrademons on Sunday June 14, 2020 @12:36PM
(#23519077)
No, it absolutely is because we do not create enough of these things. In industries where there really is an abundance of supply and that supply is controlled by many firms - things like food, or manufacturing, or houses in the Rust Belt, or haircuts - it's really difficult to raise prices. Customers will just go to the firm next door who's struggling for business and sitting idle.
That we think there's "enough" of health care, education, and housing indicates that our view of "enough" is warped. "Enough" housing doesn't mean that you have 2 bidders on each house instead of 10. It means that you have vacant units sitting empty, and so if a landlord tries to raise rents, you go rent from (or squat in) the unit next door. Similarly, "enough" education isn't that you get into half of the colleges you apply to. It's that when you want an education, you log onto the Internet and get one for free. "Enough" health care means that going to a doctor is as easy and cheap as getting a haircut (which, given the amount of training needed to be a good doctor, seems unlikely without some really good AI).
The loans and government stimulus don't help. You get inflation when you have lots of money chasing few goods, and so areas with a lot of money involved (housing, health care, and education) tend to get high prices. But providers wouldn't be able to charge those high prices in the first place unless there aren't enough goods & services to go around for everyone.
That we think there's "enough" of health care, education, and housing indicates that our view of "enough" is warped. "Enough" housing doesn't mean that you have 2 bidders on each house instead of 10. It means that you have vacant units sitting empty, and so if a landlord tries to raise rents, you go rent from (or squat in) the unit next door. Similarly, "enough" education isn't that you get into half of the colleges you apply to. It's that when you want an education, you log onto the Internet and get one for free. "Enough" health care means that going to a doctor is as easy and cheap as getting a haircut (which, given the amount of training needed to be a good doctor, seems unlikely without some really good AI).
The loans and government stimulus don't help. You get inflation when you have lots of money chasing few goods, and so areas with a lot of money involved (housing, health care, and education) tend to get high prices. But providers wouldn't be able to charge those high prices in the first place unless there aren't enough goods & services to go around for everyone.