CDs vs. NIMBY

文章作者提出，经历资本损失的人并不必然成为反对住房放松管制的NIMBY（邻避）支持者，因为他们往往能获得远超损失的净消费者剩余 1。作者以自身的CD收藏为例，指出其拥有约4000张、总花费约4万美元的唱片，但在流媒体冲击下市场价值已几乎归零 1。具体而言，二手CD的零售价目前仅约3美元，Amoeba Music可能只愿支付每张1美元；而过去每张售价13.99美元的Lebendige Vergangenheit老式歌剧录音目录，在YouTube上的现值估计仅剩约5000美元 1。尽管如此，作者认为流媒体带来的无限新音乐消费产生了远超损失的消费者剩余 1。

作者将这一逻辑类比至住房放松管制，论证了房主虽面临房产贬值，但仍可获得巨大抵消收益 1。他假设一位房主拥有价值100万美元的住房，若放松管制使其价值减半并损失50万美元，但原本价值200万美元的梦想住房现降至100万美元，其消费者剩余可能增加100万美元 1。此外，房主还可通过升级、降级、度假租赁或为子女提供更便宜住房等方式获得巨大抵消收益 1。作者坦言，他有四个孩子，每人将少继承1万美元，但获得了终身免费音乐，这印证了经历资本损失的人实际上可能获得净收益的核心论点 1。

An author argues that individuals experiencing capital losses do not necessarily become NIMBY-style opponents, as many actually gain a net benefit 1. Drawing on personal experience, the author owns a collection of approximately 4,000 CDs with a total expenditure of around $40,000, a market value that has been reduced to nearly zero by streaming services 1. For instance, while used CDs retail for about $3, stores like Amoeba Music might only pay $1 per disc, and a YouTube catalog of Lebendige Vergangenheit vintage opera recordings, which once sold for $13.99 each, is now estimated to be worth $5,000 1. Despite these financial losses, the author contends that the unlimited consumption of new music provided by streaming has generated a consumer surplus that far exceeds the depreciation of the physical collection 1.

The author applies this same logic to housing deregulation, suggesting that homeowners facing property devaluation can secure massive offsetting benefits through upgrading, downgrading, vacation rentals, or providing cheaper housing for their children 1. To illustrate, if a homeowner possesses a $1 million property that drops to half its value due to deregulation, they suffer a $500,000 loss, but a dream home originally valued at $2 million falling to $1 million could increase their consumer surplus by $1 million 1. Furthermore, the author notes that while their four children will each inherit $10,000 less, they will gain lifetime access to free music, reinforcing the argument that the overall consumer surplus outweighs the initial capital loss 1.