Root Cause of Austin's Skyrocketing Cost of Living

A must read piece from (2014) Austin City Council Candidate Jay Wiley:

Government at Root of Austin's Unaffordability

Posted by Jay Wiley 15pc on October 16, 2013

No matter where you are on the political spectrum, most Austinites agree on one thing—Austin is expensive.

In fact, Austin has the highest median home prices in Texas at well over $200,000 per home.

When government meddles too much in the economy, the economy slows down.  This doesn’t only exist on a spreadsheet; it has real effects on real people.  People adjust their behavior when incentives change.  When government taxes a behavior, you get less of that behavior because people act in their economic self-interest.

When Austin City Council makes it harder and more costly to do business, owners hire less and the economy slows.  Not all at once, of course, but gradually over time.

Look closely and you can see storm clouds beginning to form around the Austin economy.

In August, Austin experienced a larger-than-usual decline in the labor force with the number of residents employed or looking for work dropping sharper than in any of the last nine years.

....

The Austin business community employs people, increases our quality of life, and provides goods and services we want and need every day.  When regulatory barriers are lowered, incentives to produce are boosted.  Businesses then grow and hire more people.

Let’s get City Hall out of the way and make it easier for business to flourish, and hire, in Austin.

 Amen; read the whole thing here.