Has anyone put two and two together to figure out that removing cheap labor from the marketplace does not make housing (or most other things) more affordable?
Well, you could count it on being a one step in a direction of reintroducing American manufacturing.
Fix permitting [1] and homebuilder monopolies [2] while rebuilding a domestic talent pipeline for the trades [3], because young Americans need jobs they can build a life on [4].
[1] https://www.governance.fyi/p/a-housing-playbook-outline-for-...
[2] https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/its-the-land-stupid-how-t...
[3] https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/newsroom/press-releases/...
[4] https://econofact.org/factbrief/fact-check-is-unemployment-f...
I am arguing this is a very real possibility.
This issue is bigger than just "living wages in union jobs".
Before workers can find good paying jobs building homes, buyers have to able to afford the homes these high paid workers build.
It's really a supply and demand, chicken or egg type problem. It's not easily solved by simply removing cheap labor.