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Politico
a day ago
- Business
- Politico
‘Abundance' movement hits a labor wall in California
SAN FRANCISCO — California's Year of Abundance just crashed into political reality. For months, Democrats here raved about an ascendant movement to supercharge housing and energy infrastructure, mainlining the buzzy Ezra Klein book, 'Abundance.' Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential presidential contender, and allies in the Legislature argued that an aggressively pro-building agenda could lift their moribund fortunes by addressing skyrocketing housing prices while proving they are the party of bold action. But now top Democrats are confronting opposition from unions wary that the rush to ease regulations could undercut hard-fought wage and training standards. The animosity spilled over this week, with proposed new wage minimums for fast-tracked housing projects spurring a backlash from unions and some Democratic legislators. 'Abundance' may be a wonky rallying cry for many California Democrats. But for some of their closest allies, it has become a slur. 'On one hand, we have Gavin trying to sit down with these right-wing podcasters to talk about losing young men, and on the other hand he's putting his name on some bill that reduces the wages of working-class men in California,' California Labor Federation leader Lorena Gonzalez. 'Anyone who thinks this abundance movement is how we're going to get our groove back just hasn't talked to real people.' Or as state Sen. Dave Cortese, a San Jose Democrat and a staunch labor ally, put it: 'I've been around long enough to know that some of this latest trendy stuff is bullshit.' Democrats focused on spurring housing development insist they are on labor's side. They've enlisted an influential ally in California's carpenters union, and argue that crushing housing costs — the result of decades of under-building — are burdening the very working men and women unions represent. Democrats still reeling from defeats in 2024 are desperate to win back working-class voters who have fled the party. 'No one wants to actually go against labor — and not because they're powerful, but because we stand with labor,' said Matt Lewis, communications director for California YIMBY, an influential pro-development advocacy group. 'We don't want to undermine labor. We want people to have good wages and be able to live in the homes we've built.' But many union officials are unpersuaded. They recoiled when journalist Josh Barro tolda gathering of centrist Democrats last month that when he examined policies that 'stand in the way of abundance,' he'd often 'find a labor union,' following up with a post entitled, 'In Blue Cities, Abundance Will Require Fighting Labor Unions.' Barro does not speak for the nebulous abundance movement. But the kind of sentiment he expressed does little to disabuse progressives and union members of their belief that it is a Trojan Horse for the kinds of big-donor-friendly policies that have unmoored Democrats from their onetime base. The wage proposal in Sacramento this week offered them more evidence. 'Folks who want to make dramatic changes to the system to benefit their agenda like to repackage them as the new shiny thing,' said Scott Wetch, a longtime labor lobbyist who on Wednesday likened the bill to Jim Crow-era efforts to suppress wages. Gretchen Newsom, a representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Democrats should focus on struggling working-class voters. 'Instead,' said Newsom, who is not related to the governor, 'we're doing this abundance theory that is abundantly going to abandon workers.' It's widely accepted among politicians of both parties in California that building housing and infrastructure takes too long. San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council leader Carol Kim pointed to unions' efforts to translate Biden-era infrastructure funding into projects and jobs, noting that excessive red tape and delays posed 'the biggest challenge in convincing blue collar workers that Democrats were taking the right steps to help working people.' 'We've been doing that work, so this whole abundance stuff is not new,' Kim said. 'What some of us in labor right now are worried about is that it's absolutely being glommed onto by the bad actors, the people who use these types of exceptions to undermine job quality standards or fatten their own pockets.' In some ways, 'abundance' applies a new name to an old idea. Long before Klein's book with Derek Thompson was published, California Democrats — particularly in sapphire-blue San Francisco — had rallied around an agenda that faulted excessive regulation and protracted environmental reviews for stalling needed housing, driving up costs. Bills to speed up that process have repeatedly run into opposition from construction unions who warn of eroded labor standards. But this year the philosophy became inescapable. Legislative leaders met in San Francisco with Klein, who had already forged ties with housing-focused Bay Area elected Democrats. Newsom hosted Klein on his podcast, where the governor said 'abundance is fundamentally, foundationally who we are' and boasted about his administration forcing San Francisco to proceed with a contested housing project. 'You've got an ideological war that's going on in progressive cities,' Newsom told Klein. 'They don't believe in the supply-demand framework. They don't believe in this notion of abundance. Fundamentally, they don't have a growth mindset.' Weeks later, Newsom transformed California's housing debate by sweeping ambitious housing bills into his state budget proposal, putting more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to approve them. The maneuver thrilled abundance-aligned allies whose agenda was now being advanced at the highest echelons of political power. 'The Legislature has a chance to deliver the most significant housing and infrastructure reforms in decades,' Newsom's press office posted on X this week. 'This is our moment to build the California Dream for a new generation.' But Newsom also set up a showdown by making a budget deal contingent on passage of housing legislation. Labor and environmental groups condemned the wage proposal in extraordinarily acrimonious hearings where legislative Democrats echoed concerns about alienating allies. 'To ask the legislature to, in a very sweeping manner in the name of abundance or something ... take down years and years of thoughtful labor standards,' Cortese said, 'should be shocking to people.' Facing enormous pressure, lawmakers on Thursday pulled the minimum-wage bill in a compromise that reverted to existing labor standards, although the proposal could still resurface. Accompanying streamlining legislation was expected to be pared back during negotiations. Those shifts vindicated labor foes and underscored the volatile politics at play. 'The governor has historically pushed the boundaries and tested some creative policies,' said Joseph Cruz, executive director of the California State Council of Laborers. 'We have to make it easier to build in California, and I don't think anyone disputes that. But at what expense to workers?' Eric He contributed to this report.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Is an extra 40cm the secret to happiness in the bedroom? This economics expert doesn't think so
It's not often that the book you're reading illuminates perfectly the strange reality of housing being played out in the nation's suburbs. But there I was, working my way through Abundance, the latest must - read in economics by American journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which has become a clarion call aimed at the world's progressives, when just that happened. Abundance effectively argues that all the rules they helped create to protect the environment, prevent pollution, ensure people had quality housing and generally improve our standard of living have turned into a quagmire of red tape that is leaving people worse off. Everything from the efforts to decarbonise the world to ensuring people have affordable homes is being stymied by the left's bureaucratic success, or so say Klein and Thompson. And so pervasive is this book that about half of the federal cabinet has a dog-eared copy on their bed stands. With the key themes of the book still swirling in my head as I began to catch up on the news of the day, I was struck by a story by my colleague, Daniella White, about the bunfight over a multi-storey housing development in the northern Melbourne suburb of Greensborough. The story opened with the words: 'Apartments falling short of minimum space requirements' have been approved by the Victorian state government to help meet its housing targets. Loading Naturally, I found myself wondering what these minimum space requirements are. About 30 minutes later, after going down the rabbit hole that is state planning regulation, I discovered something quite discomforting. Under current regulations, the main bedroom in any new build has to measure at least 3 metres by 3.4 metres, while other bedrooms must be at least 3 metres by 3 metres.
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Is an extra 40cm the secret to happiness in the bedroom? This economics expert doesn't think so
It's not often that the book you're reading illuminates perfectly the strange reality of housing that's currently being played out in the nation's suburbs. But there I was, working my way through Abundance, the latest must - read in economics by American journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which has become a clarion call aimed at the world's progressives, when just that happened. Abundance effectively argues that all the rules they helped create to protect the environment, prevent pollution, ensure people had quality housing and generally improve our standard of living have turned into a quagmire of red tape that 's leaving people worse off. Everything from the efforts to decarbonise the world to ensuring people have affordable homes is being stymied by the left's bureaucratic success, or so say Klein and Thompson. And so pervasive is this book that about half of the federal cabinet has a dog-eared copy on their bed stands. With the key themes of the book still swirling in my head as I began to catch up on the news of the day, I was struck by a story by my colleague Daniella White about the bunfight over a multi-storey housing development in the northern Melbourne suburb of Greensborough. The story opened with the words: 'Apartments falling short of minimum space requirements' have been approved by the Victorian state government in order to help meet its housing targets. Loading Naturally, I found myself wondering what these minimum space requirements are. About 30 minutes later, after going down the rabbit hole that is state planning regulation, I discovered something quite discomforting. Under current regulations, the main bedroom in any new build has to measure at least 3 metres by 3.4 metres, while other bedrooms must be at least 3 metres by 3 metres. That means the house that I've had for more than 20 years and raised a family in (including a dog and a rabbit) here in Canberra is not 'liveable' by today's Victorian standards – all because it does not have the requisite sized bedrooms.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bans on rent-pricing algorithms could backfire, lead to higher prices
Northwestern lawmakers are considering cracking down on rent-setting algorithms. (Getty Images) The Pacific Northwest boasts natural splendors and world-class companies from Amazon and Microsoft to Nike and Columbia Sportswear. But a severe problem undercuts the region's momentum: a deeply undersupplied housing market. Oregon and Washington need a combined 1.6 million new housing units to keep up with demand. Driven by the housing shortage, home ownership is out of reach for 80% of Washington families. One-third of the state's residents listed housing affordability as the top legislative priority. In Oregon, the number of households has outpaced the number of new housing units in six of the last seven years. Oregonians now pay on average more than 40% of their income in mortgage payments, up from 28% in 2017. The numbers speak for themselves: The parts of the U.S. that expanded housing supply the most are now seeing home prices fall. As Derek Thompson, co-author with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein of the much-discussed book Abundance, recently noted, rents skyrocketed in Austin, Texas, during COVID. The city responded by expanding its housing inventory by more than any city in the county. The result: Rents in Austin dropped by 7%. Unfortunately, rather than reducing red tape, policymakers too often shoot the messenger whenever housing demand pushes prices higher. Recently, lawmakers in Portland, Olympia and Salem have advanced proposals to ban property managers from using rent-pricing algorithms as a part of their efforts to attract new residents. The efforts have put a company known as RealPage under the microscope. Critics are claiming that the business is engaging in price-fixing without understanding what its analytical tools do. But data is critical for the housing market to be responsive to shifts in demand for the types and locations of places to live. More information helps suppliers and consumers. RealPage supports property managers with accurate pricing for the market to help diffuse underpricing that could risk narrow profit margins over the long haul. The pricing data also helps root out overpricing that leads to vacancies. In the end, it's a resource. Individual property managers know their own offerings best and pricing software does not replace human decision-making. Users overrule RealPage's recommendations in more than half of all instances. The anti-algorithm proposals also raise significant questions for the Pacific Northwest's economy. The region is uniquely resilient thanks to its tech and manufacturing sectors. These industries will be under massive threat if lawmakers impede efficiency-driving systems and market analysis tools. Using sophisticated algorithms, Amazon adjusts prices on products sold on its site 2.5 million times per day. Supporting robust competition means encouraging new players with support systems that allow them to break through in what are often static consumer spaces. The urge to regulate first and ask questions later also dampens the housing market. In Washington, for example, state leaders have put climate initiatives at the top of the pecking order through a rule requiring all new homes and apartments to be built with electric heat pump systems, which would drive up the cost of building new homes and require builders to purchase new systems that have been scarce. Voters reacted by blocking the measure, but local officials are dragging their feet on following through on the initiative. As Abundance authors Thompson and Klein point out, housing is an area where the best of intentions can lead to the worst of outcomes. Over-regulation made it virtually impossible to build more housing in San Francisco and New York. Overall, construction market experts have estimated that onerous rules imposed at the federal, state and local levels account for $93,870 of the sales price of a new single-family home. Oregon is on the precipice of potentially authorizing state-owned land for housing development ventures – and federal land access can also help erode the housing crisis. But this is just one step of many at the state level that will be greatly needed to improve housing supply. Software bans keep consumers in the dark about market opportunities and put zero shovels in the ground. A smarter regulatory framework that leads to more homes, not more lawsuits, is the relief that aspiring homeowners in the Pacific Northwest need today. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Dani Rodrik: Abundance for consumers could still mean misery for workers
Next Story Dani Rodrik An economic vision of abundantly supplied markets isn't enough. People don't just derive an income from their vocations, but self-esteem and satisfaction too. We need policies that generate good jobs, even if we sacrifice some efficiency for it. The rise of far-right populists in the US and Europe has been linked to the job losses associated with trade shocks, automation and fiscal austerity. Gift this article The surest way for policy advocates to lose a progressive audience is to talk about the economy's supply side, the importance of incentives and the dangers of overregulation—ideas typically linked to conservative agendas. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book Abundance aims to change all that. The surest way for policy advocates to lose a progressive audience is to talk about the economy's supply side, the importance of incentives and the dangers of overregulation—ideas typically linked to conservative agendas. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book Abundance aims to change all that. As the authors point out, the left has traditionally focused on demand-side remedies. A key tenet of the New Deal in the US and social democracy in Europe is Keynesian management of aggregate demand to ensure full employment. Klein and Thompson rightly underscore that it is improvements in supply that are the source of broad-based posterity in the US and other advanced economies. As productivity rises, low- and middle-income families reap the benefits of cheaper and more varied and plentiful goods and services. However, increasingly, the US economy's ability to build things has been hobbled, the authors argue, by environmental, safety, labour and other regulations, and by complex and time-consuming local permitting rules. These rules and regulations may be well-meaning, but they can be also counterproductive. When governments and communities place obstacles in the way of investment and innovation, they undercut prosperity. Public transport lags behind, productivity in housing construction plummets and the deployment of renewables falters. The authors' vision of progress features energy from renewable sources and cheap, safe nuclear power; fresh water from desalination; fruits and vegetables from hyper-productive vertically stacked farms; meat produced in labs without slaughtering live animals; miracle drugs delivered by autonomous drones; and space-based factories meeting other needs without requiring any human workers. Since AI would greatly shorten the workweek, we'd all enjoy more vacation time without sacrificing our living standards. Keynesian social democracy no longer provides an adequate answer to the malaise experienced by workers. But Klein and Thompson's depiction of utopia reflects a vision that ultimately remains consumerist. Their focus is squarely on the abundance of goods and services that the economy generates—on how much we build, rather than on the builders. In this, they share a common blind spot with economists who, ever since Adam Smith, have emphasized that the ultimate end of production is consumption. But what gives meaning to our lives is not just the fruits of our labour, but also the work itself. When people are asked about well-being and life satisfaction, the work they do ranks at the top, along with contributions to their community and family bonds. For economists, a job provides income, but is otherwise a negative —a source of 'disutility.' For real people, a job is a source of pride, dignity and social recognition. Employment loss typically produces a reduction in individual well-being that is a multiple of the loss of income. The social effects magnify those costs. The rise of far-right populists in the US and Europe has been linked to the job losses associated with trade shocks, automation and fiscal austerity. Also Read: Populist policies can be myopic and also very hard to challenge Good jobs pay well, but also provide security, autonomy and a path to self-improvement. None of this is possible without high levels of productivity. A progressive focused on abundance of good jobs, rather than abundance of goods and services, would find plenty to agree with in this book. But there would also be many quibbles. Consider housing, one of Klein and Thompson's key examples. US productivity in housing construction has stagnated in recent years, in part because of safety regulations and union rules. But as one of the authors' interlocutors readily admits, fatalities and non-fatal injuries in construction have fallen dramatically in the US since the 1970s, thanks to many of these restrictive rules. That must surely count as an improvement in overall worker well- being, casting the productivity statistics in a somewhat different light. The authors' line of argument echoes economists' case for automation and free trade. These may have been efficient by conventional criteria, and they certainly helped produce an abundance of goods. But they also hurt many of our workers, leaving societies scarred and paving the way for right-wing populism. A good-jobs focus would make us more tolerant of regulations that sacrifice some efficiency for the sake of better labour-market outcomes, especially for non-college-educated workers. Ultimately, the real challenge for progressives is to devise an agenda that benefits workers as workers as much as in their role as consumers. This requires a distinctive approach to innovation, investment and regulation. Unions, worker representatives and collective bargaining must be viewed as essential components of abundance, rather than obstacles to it. Place-based strategies and local economic development coalitions are critical. Government must put its thumb on the scale to ensure innovation takes a worker-friendly direction. Advanced economies' most glaring failure has been their inability to deliver enough good jobs. Remedying this issue requires focusing on those who produce abundance, alongside abundance itself. ©2025/Project Syndicate The author is a professor of international political economy at Harvard Kennedy School, and the author of 'Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy'. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
