Navigating Life at the Crossroads - Week 5: Inequality and the Future of Capitalism

Week 5 in the Navigating Life at the Crossroads series, led by Professor Joseph Camilleri, featured special guest Professor Yanis Varoufakis.

[oscar_sheen]

In response to the discussion about capitalism. I propose a conversation on the efficacy of the following statement:

Summary of ideas for solving housing unaffordability World-Wide (assumptions not emitted):
1. Increase the spread between the interest rates banks change owner-occupiers versus landlords versus developers. For example, in an unaffordable scenario where landlording is outpacing owner-occupation, banks could charge owner-occupiers a lower interest rate, and landlords a higher rate.
2. Cut immigration, start building. Immigrants want affordable housing too!! By considering the housing to immigration ratio (and the immigration to infrastructure ratio), policy makers could adjust immigration so that the quantity of new homes built is far greater than the quantity of new immigrants.
3. Require landlords to build new homes. Bankrolling landlords can have portfolios of 10 or 20 investment properties without every having built any new stock. Policy makers could introduce a rule that requires landlords to build new homes after their 2nd investment property, for instance. This would incentivize landlords to spend their equity towards new housing development, instead of negative gearing or purchasing an existing unit of stock.
4. Halt all landlording unless the landlord builds new stock. By stopping landlords from buying up existing stock (and outbidding owner-occupiers at home-opens). This would prioritize owner-occupation over landlording in the bidding process at home opens, for instance.
5. Make universities house more of their student intake. For example, make housing students from rural areas an education and local planning requirement. Make housing a certain ratio of international students as well. There is no obligation for universities to have to house their internally enrolled international students. International students increase rents around universities, for example. The university doesn’t have to be responsible for housing a proportion of their intake.