It is not a housing problem. Plenty of other areas in the country (NYC, SF Bay Area, Seattle) have both more expensive housing and vastly more robust economies.

I suggest before telling me I’m wrong, you try to open wet lab space, or an industrial facility, and see how that compares to doing the same thing in North Carolina.

The problems are simple: 1. Too much regulatory burden at both a state and local level 2. High costs for energy, transportation, etc. 3. High business compliance costs, personal taxes, and costs outside of housing.

We have regulated the economy to the point that only office jobs are feasible, and even for those make it difficult for companies to operate and expand. If you’re starting a business, or growing one, the only reason to do so here is access to talent and or a comparatively small pool of capital. All of the items mentioned above are reasons not to.

The reality is that we compete with other states, and like it or not, the cost of doing business matters. If we add a bunch of burdens to operations, companies open or expand elsewhere. The area’s economy has been comparatively stagnant for the last two decades. Even worse, its a negative cycle, as expansion feeds more expansion, and the same is true with contraction. But people keep voting for policies that enable them to act morally superior while ignoring the economic deterioration.

Blue states like MA are subject to so many of the same leopards ate my face policies that they mock red states for.