I put together a long series at Forbes about what I am calling “housing economics.” Maybe it is more accurate to call it a series about simple supply and demand. How long should something like that take. It is pretty simple. It’s been years now that my interest in cities and how they benefit people was eclipsed by economics. We don’t talk about the sustainability of the city anymore or about reduced carbon emissions or the benefits of being close to our neighbors. Today, the dominant thought in the conversation is “we need more affordable housing!” I guess that’s why I end up repeating, “we need more housing so that it is affordable.” That explains the repetition.

Repetition is annoying, grating on the ear and conscience of the listener. I realized a while ago that I am a housing minimalist. There is a sense each day that I’ve said everything that could be possibly said about housing economics, over and over and over again, especially challenging the notion that somehow taxing, fining, feeing, and restricting housing will somehow make it cheaper.

Mostly the effort to shift us toward supply side policies in Seattle and Washington State hasn’t worked. Powerful non-profits still hold control of political power. There is no interest in becoming more efficient in the production of non-profit housing. In a way that makes sense. If someone is always ready to give you more money what interest do you have in saving it. There’s always more. Still, I think for the sake of the record it is important to keep refining the song by playing it over and over again. I always find new analogies or examples.

In the end, it may be that to really change the way we think about housing will require a recession and economic slow down. Perhaps Donald Trump will finally move off the stage. Maybe with Trump gone and the economy in trouble, the left will drift back to the center and the right will find its principles. Maybe business people will see the value of ideas and how they shape policy that makes innovation easier or more difficult depending on what the policy is. Maybe. All my words and those of others will hopefully still be around when that happens to serve as a guide for a different approach to housing in times of economic growth.