Skip to content

Market Failure: Contractors Idle Amidst Shortage of Affordable Housing

Last updated on 2023-04-30

In another sign of market failure in South Dakota, capitalists are sitting around waiting for government handouts to build affordable housing:

In Jeremy Jensen’s eyes, shovels should have already been put into the ground.

Jensen, owner of Jensen Design Build, does house construction, neighborhood development and real estate investing in many South Dakota communities from his base office in Mitchell…. [A] housing development he owns in Mitchell is looking to use some of the $200 million for housing infrastructure from Senate Bill 41.

“We’re kind of sitting, just waiting to see what’s gonna happen here,” Jensen said. “We’ve known the program’s going to be coming through. In order to keep things affordable, yeah, we’re kind of waiting on that funding” [Eric Mayer, “As SD Government Officials Point Fingers, Developers Wait,” KELO-TV, 2023.04.27].

In a properly functioning economy, South Dakota employers would be paying South Dakota workers enough money to allow the workers to afford houses. But South Dakota contractors like Jensen apparently can’t find enough customers who can afford their product without a government subsidy. So much for building the strongest economy in America….

 

8 Comments

  1. Vi Kingman

    That’s the whole question.people can’t afford regular homes much less build new ones.

  2. We have geniuses working on this. Elon will give them a cubicle on Mars as soon as he can.

  3. Arlo Blundt

    You can’t get into a program of building “affordable” workforce housing in South Dakota unless the economy is expanding. The economy is not expanding. It is a failure of the Republican Party and the financial sector, which supports them.

  4. grudznick

    Tomorrow, at the Conservatives with Common Sense breakfasting, we will debate the waste of state and federal taxpayer dollars into this boondoggle and the failures of the legislatures in writing their sloppy law bills. Some may even advocate the money should go back to the treasuries of the people.

    I suspect a preview of the opening rant may be:

    Want a house? Buy it.
    Want to build and sell a house? Have a business plan.
    Want to give away taxpayer money? Write better law bills.
    Want to lower taxes? Stop giving away taxpayer money.

  5. Tomorrow at the Old Hippies Law Group we’re going to monkey wrench Citibank and redistribute I’ll-gotten wealth.

  6. Hilarious autocorrect notwithstanding.

  7. algebra

    somebody is moving into all the new apartments and new homes in all the towns along the I-29 corridor from Brookings to Sioux Falls.

    Not sure where the housing shortage is around here

  8. John

    Market Failure is the screaming headline.
    The market fails paying a living wage to afford housing and daycare.
    The market is failing to provide services necessary for families. The waiting lists at daycare are 150-200 folks deep. Women put themselves on the waiting list when they learn they are pregnant – even prior to telling their spouse or other. Folks cannot afford to take “jobs” that do not pay to cover housing, food, transport, and daycare (which can cost as much or more than college). Thus, low wages drive a worker shortage.
    It is likely long past the time for a general strike. A general strike of weeks could likely torpedo the capitalists who depend on exploiting cheap labor.

    Glance at this note from “rural” Minnesota endeavoring to find employees. https://news.yahoo.com/perfect-storm-minnesota-labor-market-102052693.html
    The demographic pyramid is collapsing on the US, especially on the rural US – which wasted decades voting against their interests and exporting their youth to the coasts.

    You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Comments are closed.