Trump and Xi must negotiate AI safety controls at their Washington meeting in September much like Reagan and Gorbachev tackled nuclear arms control decades ago.
Page F3From§Eachthe breakfast edition — 1 September 2026
AI wealth makes mansions scarce as Bernie Sanders calls for AI pause
AI has arrived and, according to NPR, it's created a mansion shortage in San Francisco. That’s not a typo: wealth generated by AI companies is reshaping the housing market, pushing prices up and stock down. Meanwhile, Senator Sanders (Fox News) urges a pause on AI development, citing risks to society and the economy. The numbers don’t lie—tech fortunes are pushing ordinary buyers out, and the only thing more scarce than affordable housing is legislative restraint. It’s a study in supply and demand, hon. The market rewards innovation, but the public pays the price. Mansion scarcity is a symptom, not a diagnosis; the real question is what happens to everyone priced out. Sanders’s call for caution is drowned out by the sound of cash registers. The ledger shows the gap: tech runs ahead, policy lags behind, and the ordinary buyer is left holding the bag. In lieu of flowers, demand housing policy that keeps pace with the robots.
“While Bernie’s asking to hit pause on AI, the tech boom is pricing regular folks out of San Francisco. You can’t afford a mansion, but you can afford to worry about what the robots are doing with your rent money.”
“The rise of AI is a marvel—who wouldn’t want smarter machines and fancier homes? If Senator Sanders is worried, it’s probably just because he doesn’t understand the market. Mansion shortages are a sign of prosperity, not a crisis. Did I say crisis? I meant opportunity.”
The receipts
Spiking prices and rental bidding wars are raising fears of more displacement in a city where previous tech booms and a housing shortage have already driven out many.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.