House prices are high because of GOVERNMENT

The news today tells us that the Australian people are teeming over house prices and want something done.

But the reason you have high house prices is because the government is already doing TOO MUCH. State governments are choking land on the outskirts of suburbia and that is driving house prices up and creating an illusion of so-called "overpopulation".

Will somebody please tell me what is wrong with people building large suburban houses and enjoying them with their families? Isn't that what life is all about? Why should the government prevent a legitimate transaction between two people on the outskirts of suburbia?

Planning, you say. Wasn't anything learned from the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago? If your goal is increasing living standards, then government central planning is a failure.

And why should it be desirable for house prices to rise? Is it desirable for mobile phone prices to rise? Is it desirable for computer prices to rise? Is it desirable for car prices to rise?

Don't we want houses to be cheaper so we can buy more of them?

In a healthy economy, with sound money, prices go down because increased economic activity and new technologies allow goods and services to get cheaper.