El Podcast8 Mar 2025

E124: Why Government Rules Make Homes Unaffordable - w/ Bryan Caplan

Economist Bryan Caplan joins the show to discuss his new graphic novel Build Baby Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation. We unpack how housing prices have skyrocketed due to artificial scarcity created by zoning laws, minimum lot sizes, height restrictions, parking mandates, and outdated local codes.

Caplan argues that cutting these burdensome rules could massively increase supply, slash housing costs, reduce inequality, and improve economic mobility—all without sacrificing safety or quality of life. Along the way, we discuss the Empire State Building, million-dollar trailer parks, licensing bottlenecks in the trades, and why even small towns have become "Ponzi schemes of sprawl."

Topics Covered:

Why housing is so expensive—and who’s to blame
The 1926 Village of Euclid case and the birth of zoning
How regulation strangles supply and drives up prices
YIMBYism vs. NIMBYism
Texas vs. California housing policy
Infrastructure and the cost of sprawl
Licensing and labor bottlenecks in construction
How deregulation could boost GDP, mobility, and fertility
The politics of fear and the myth of “smart growth”

📺Watch full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/M-97wVYKFXo

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
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