Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

abio.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 322 posts

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#51

Post by vjulian »

milkytron wrote: post #15

I serve as a planning commissioner for my city, and my city just recently tried to overhaul our zoning code to allow for more affordability and better economic outcomes for our citizens and future as a city. Here is what I have learned: In the US, few people participate or care about local laws, zoning, and elections, or even understand why participation may be important. In a citizen ballot to determine if we should…

This sort of citizen engagement is cute, naïve and ultimately pointless. Where I live in the US the major landowner(s) and local billionaire(s) ultimately controls these things. I’m not being sarcastic.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#52

Post by systemtest »

gedy wrote: post #45
petcat wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> allow everyone living in the city to vote Who is "everyone" in this case?

My guess is non-citizens or 'undocumented immigrants'.

Those as well. But even citizens and immigrants with paperwork can often not vote for local elections if they do not have stable housing.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#53

Post by erikerikson »

systemtest wrote: post #31
criddell wrote: post #10

It probably isn't as simple as the writer thinks. Houston, for example, has no zoning laws and no $4 lunch bowls.

Or basically all of Europe. Haven't seen $4 lunch bowls (adjusted to local wages) anywhere. Spending "nearly an hour a day cooking" is the norm in most countries here. Eating out is expensive anywhere.

Here in Seattle, it's wildly expensive to go out and we rarely do. When I lived in Portland it was inexpensive (and amazing) so almost everyone went out regularly which supported a ton of restaurants that completed against each other. Not sure what was different but the difference was night and day.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#54

Post by vel0city »

mothballed wrote: post #30
milkytron wrote: post #15

I serve as a planning commissioner for my city, and my city just recently tried to overhaul our zoning code to allow for more affordability and better economic outcomes for our citizens and future as a city. Here is what I have learned: In the US, few people participate or care about local laws, zoning, and elections, or even understand why participation may be important. In a citizen ballot to determine if we should…

I think there is a snowball effect with zoning. I specifically sought out a place zoned with no building code checks and hardly any zoning. I value my right to die in a fire a lot more than I value my right to have the jack-boot enter my own property and tell me he knows best. People like me go to places with fairly free zoning. The jack boot lickers go to places with restricted zoning. Once one has a majority it jus…

I can't imagine I'd ever want to buy a house from someone who makes a point to live someplace where they can install sub-par plumbing and wiring, that this lack of code compliance was the selling point of where to build.

Imagine buying a meal from a restaurant which prides themselves by not meeting the standards of the nearby town's health department.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#55

Post by whynotminot »

systemtest wrote: post #41
dymk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you not register to vote or something?

I've lived in various European cities where I was not able to vote for various reasons. Such as living hotel long-term, living in a holiday home, being semi-homeless, sub-letting, crashing on someones couch. Seasonal workers, migrant workers or people with unstable employment are typically in this situation. No, I was not able to vote.

I don’t want someone drifting through town in the local motel to be able to meaningfully vote to change the city I am rooted in.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#56

Post by throw0101d »

falcor84 wrote: post #6
potato3732842 wrote: post #2

>Individual regulations, each reasonable in isolation... Every single one of these rules that amounts to death by a thousand cuts preventing these sorts of businesses (as well as many others) will be rabidly defended by many/most if presented in the abstract. That sort of inability to reason about the forest based on what you're doing to the trees is the root problem. And it's a social/ideological/moral one, even if…

I really enjoyed Lex Fridman's interview with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson on this topic, as part of their book tour for Abundance. Even if I disagree with some of their proposals, I really liked their focus and clarification of the issue. We should be mindful of the POSIWID principle and be talking a lot more about the results of our policies. https://youtu.be/DTPSeeKokdo

> POSIWID

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#57

Post by KellyCriterion »

systemtest wrote: post #41
dymk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you not register to vote or something?

I've lived in various European cities where I was not able to vote for various reasons. Such as living hotel long-term, living in a holiday home, being semi-homeless, sub-letting, crashing on someones couch. Seasonal workers, migrant workers or people with unstable employment are typically in this situation. No, I was not able to vote.

...and sorry: Thats absolutely OK. I do not want strangers stopping by for 3 - 4 years to be able to influence the politics of my country? Thats totaly understandable?

I would never to ask to vote at a remote place where I do not live permanently, yet where I even not a citizen?

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#58

Post by dv_dt »

milkytron wrote: post #15

I serve as a planning commissioner for my city, and my city just recently tried to overhaul our zoning code to allow for more affordability and better economic outcomes for our citizens and future as a city. Here is what I have learned: In the US, few people participate or care about local laws, zoning, and elections, or even understand why participation may be important. In a citizen ballot to determine if we should…

Protests come when people are pushed into a corner with little other choice. Participation is more prevalent when people have free time in their lives. Our economics has systematically squeezed free time out in favor of more work to most of our workforce, and particularly hard for young people.

One reason so many local city policies favor the old, is that they're retired and have the time to participate

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#59

Post by mothballed »

vel0city wrote: post #54
mothballed wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there is a snowball effect with zoning. I specifically sought out a place zoned with no building code checks and hardly any zoning. I value my right to die in a fire a lot more than I value my right to have the jack-boot enter my own property and tell me he knows best. People like me go to places with fairly free zoning. The jack boot lickers go to places with restricted zoning. Once one has a majority it jus…

I can't imagine I'd ever want to buy a house from someone who makes a point to live someplace where they can install sub-par plumbing and wiring, that this lack of code compliance was the selling point of where to build. Imagine buying a meal from a restaurant which prides themselves by not meeting the standards of the nearby town's health department.

Well that's luck for you, because I built the house I live in, and I'm not selling it. Although since I actually have to live in the house, the wiring was designed by an electrical engineer and installed at or above NEC requirements. But there was no one to look over my shoulder when I did it.

If there were regulations house would have cost at least double. Because I have a day job and no time for inspectors, nor any trade license.

>Imagine buying a meal from a restaurant which prides themselves by not meeting the standards of the nearby town's health department.

Lol having lived in the third world I've eaten from probably a hundred of these. Very tasty. Not much different than the US where inspector is basically never there so you still must apply all the food sanitation rules in deciding regarding buying food from a vendor.

Re: America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan but for zoning laws

#60

Post by trinix912 »

systemtest wrote: post #41
dymk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you not register to vote or something?

I've lived in various European cities where I was not able to vote for various reasons. Such as living hotel long-term, living in a holiday home, being semi-homeless, sub-letting, crashing on someones couch. Seasonal workers, migrant workers or people with unstable employment are typically in this situation. No, I was not able to vote.

What do you think makes someone who’s pretty much just passing by entitled to push their opinions on the locals who’ve lived there their entire lives? Especially when that person likely won’t suffer the longterm consequences of it
Post reply on HN