>>>>Capitalism is a wonderful system but as we saw in the early 20th century, unfettered capitalism is self-destructive. Simple math dictates that the rich will become exponentially richer, and that increased wealth will inevitably come at the expense of the less powerful, especially when there is basically no limit on how much money can be used to influence politicians.
>>>>The New Deal put some brakes on the process, but since the 1970's those brakes have been gradually released.
>>>>High tax rates on high incomes are one way to slow the pace.
>>
>>You don't need to lecture NZers about property prices. ;-) https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110049950/auckland-ranked-among-worlds-least-affordable-cities-in-housing-report
>
>The average cost of rent for a person here on Oahu in Honolulu is 74% of the average salary. Want to own a home? Average monthly mortgage cost is 118% of average salary. In other words you can rent and be broke forever and you can't ever buy a place. I see 4 or more people living in a 1 room studio apt all the time. Santa Cruz California -- where the rent is 82% of average salary - is the only city worse in the USA right now.
>

Correct.
When you ask why, it's because very wealthy people are bidding up the costs, and it fans out from there.
Developers aren't evil people. They are doing what business people should do, maximizing returns.

Wealth disparity is the culprit.
The easiest way to ease the disparity without hurting anyone is to tax the very rich at very high rates.