Coffee and a Mike Neil Howe #1290
4 snips
Jan 15, 2026 
Neil Howe, a demographer and author of "The Fourth Turning," dives deep into societal trends and economic impacts. He critiques mortgage subsidies as a driver of housing prices and advocates for expanding supply over demand. Howe discusses the dangers of modern consumer debt models like Buy Now, Pay Later, drawing parallels to gambling. He also explores the implications of political polarization and how it benefits figures like Trump, all while emphasizing the need for community resilience amidst societal changes.
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Demand Subsidies Inflate Asset Prices
- Subsidizing demand (for housing or college) inflates prices and mostly benefits incumbent institutions.
- Real solutions require expanding supply and removing local barriers to construction.
Federal Housing Emergency Proposal
- Neil Howe suggests a federal housing emergency to override NIMBY rules and speed construction.
- He imagines bulldozing through local restrictions to expand supply in high-cost areas.
Event Betting Creates Perverse Incentives
- Betting markets that pay on real-world events create incentives for people to cause those events.
- Financializing geopolitics and tragedies is dangerous and tempts malicious behavior.
