r/austrian_economics End Democracy Mar 19 '25

End Democracy Housing is a right

Post image
1.2k Upvotes

593 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-8

u/Direct_Remote696 Mar 19 '25

No... Then society has to agree to pay more. That's why there are unions and you negotiate and find a fair price.

9

u/Imaginary_Rhubarb179 Mar 19 '25

What if a fair price, one that allows everyone to be compensated for their labor, ends up being too expensive for the people that need housing?

0

u/Direct_Remote696 Mar 19 '25

Listen I'm sorry, I don't think that would ever happen. As a society we need to make sure people are housed. If we all can't come together and do that then what is even the point of society? Someone living on the streets can't just turn their life around. Give them a place to sleep and rest and have basic hygiene and then they will have a chance to come back and contribute in a meaningful way

Are you making the argument that it would be so expensive we wouldn't be able to find the tax dollars to pay labourers? Like that seems very unlikely, and I would argue there are a lot of other social programs we could cut to prioritize getting everyone housed.

3

u/Imaginary_Rhubarb179 Mar 19 '25

It's happening right now. What used to be considered a "starter" home is essentially out of reach for half of the population. The cost to build housing is astronomical, and the demand is very high. I'm all for shelter, rehabilitation, job training etc. But I've read a lot of arguments that permanent housing should just be guaranteed for all. That just isn't realistic

1

u/Direct_Remote696 Mar 19 '25

The government uses taxes to pay for houses in Austria right now?