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Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

inpractice.yimbyaction.org

111–120 of 539 posts

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#111

Instead of getting tangled up in social issues, liberal politicians should be prioritizing housing, infrastructure and government services supporting people's economic activity of all kinds. Delivering better lives for people, and having the courage to stand up to vested interests, from house owners to corporations, would create a huge and lasting political win across a broad section of the electorate.

How are housing and government services not social issues?

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#112

I've grown a little bit more skeptical of what can realistically be achieved by the passive nature of YIMBY-ism. In Portland, they passed some radical new zoning laws a few years ago that allowed anyone, anywhere the ability to zone ADUs on their property. And the cost to get permits is almost nothing. I have lots of friends and family in the area with property. But not a single one has added an ADU. It seems like it…

It's not really surprising that places with the most onerous "tenants rights" regimes have the biggest problems with housing inventory. I wish the people enacting these laws understood that for every squatter or rent deadbeat you prevent a landlord from evicting, there's a hundred potential landlords that just say no thanks I'll just leave my property empty. https://www.pacificresearch.org/time-to-ask-why-so-many-san…

[deleted]

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#113

I've grown a little bit more skeptical of what can realistically be achieved by the passive nature of YIMBY-ism. In Portland, they passed some radical new zoning laws a few years ago that allowed anyone, anywhere the ability to zone ADUs on their property. And the cost to get permits is almost nothing. I have lots of friends and family in the area with property. But not a single one has added an ADU. It seems like it…

It's not really surprising that places with the most onerous "tenants rights" regimes have the biggest problems with housing inventory. I wish the people enacting these laws understood that for every squatter or rent deadbeat you prevent a landlord from evicting, there's a hundred potential landlords that just say no thanks I'll just leave my property empty. https://www.pacificresearch.org/time-to-ask-why-so-many-san…

Is it that they don't understand, or that they actively seek that result?

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#114
post #9

I think the author has it quite backwards, at least as it comes to housing. Politicians are beholden to the members of their district, not would-be members. Sure, more affordable housing would benefit many people, but it wouldn't benefit the members of the district, particularly the wealthy and powerful, since more affordable housing is very nearly equivalent to real estate values decreasing (at the very least, as pe…

Tie minimum wage to the cost of housing on a per city or per zip code basis. When the middle class and wealthy are negatively impacted by their restaurants, grocery stores, etc becoming expensive (or shutting down) due to labor costs then they will relent. "I hate more housing, but I love to eat affordably." Connect labor prices to the cost of assets in some meaningful way.

I personally think people should not work for a wage less than they need to buy the crappiest home in their town which would negate this need, but the lower-classes haven't developed enough self-esteem or entitlement for that.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#115

Instead of getting tangled up in social issues, liberal politicians should be prioritizing housing, infrastructure and government services supporting people's economic activity of all kinds. Delivering better lives for people, and having the courage to stand up to vested interests, from house owners to corporations, would create a huge and lasting political win across a broad section of the electorate.

I'm pretty sure the political group that can guarantee a quality National Health Service in the US will win

Let's be real. The Republicans would absolutely ruin any such institution the moment they'd get the chance. Better to keep health care private and instead socialize insurance. A hollowing-out of insurance is far easier to reverse than a hollowing-out of hospitals and clinics. An NHS led by an openly antagonistic government is not long for this world. Look at what the Trump admin is doing to other government services. The German model is far more Republican-proof than the British one.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#116

Instead of getting tangled up in social issues, liberal politicians should be prioritizing housing, infrastructure and government services supporting people's economic activity of all kinds. Delivering better lives for people, and having the courage to stand up to vested interests, from house owners to corporations, would create a huge and lasting political win across a broad section of the electorate.

Home owners are by far the majority, so battling home owners is an easy ticket to defeat.

Home owners are the minority in San Francisco, so why in your opinion are prices so high there?

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#117

I've grown a little bit more skeptical of what can realistically be achieved by the passive nature of YIMBY-ism. In Portland, they passed some radical new zoning laws a few years ago that allowed anyone, anywhere the ability to zone ADUs on their property. And the cost to get permits is almost nothing. I have lots of friends and family in the area with property. But not a single one has added an ADU. It seems like it…

the extremely unpopular but logical next step in managing change would be to induce development by increasing property taxes. Basically compel people to move and sell their land to developers who build up the land.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The balance simple - renters have total rights as long as they pay on time and there is no damage on the property except normal wear and tear and 0 when when not paying. You as landlord can't say anything as long as the property is not damaged for the duration of the contract. You always renegotiate at market rates. There is no concept of squatting and evictions are fast. That's it. Works like a charm. No bullshits l…

This is ideal if you're a landlord, but hell if you're a tenant.

That is quite an overstatement.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the Democrats had a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate when Obama was elected, they couldn't even get a public option included in the Affordable Care Act, and the right so successfully demagogued "Obamacare" (their name for it) that the Democrats lost an incredible number of seats in the 2010 midterms. Bernie Sanders campaigned on Medicare for All (essentially what you're suggesting) in 2016…

"Didn't even win the democratic primary" might be a bit of a misnomer if it's implying that winning the democratic primary should be much easier than winning the general. Bernie has positions that are popular outside of democrats, many people think that if he had won the primary, he would have had a much better chance of winning than Hilary or Biden, since he had less baggage and his policies were broadly popular.

Has this idea of Bernie positions being popular outside the Democratic Party gone anywhere? Has it survived an election?

I’ve heard it frequently claimed, but where has a progressive Dem won where a moderate didn’t?

They seem to lose badly. The Sanders people were all in on Paula Jean Swearengin in WV and even tried to primary Manchin with her.

WV has all the supposed demographics Sanders appeals to. White working class people mired in poverty.

She was the worst performing Democratic nominee in West Virginia history.

Re: Abundance isn't going to happen unless politicians are scared of the status quo

#120

Instead of getting tangled up in social issues, liberal politicians should be prioritizing housing, infrastructure and government services supporting people's economic activity of all kinds. Delivering better lives for people, and having the courage to stand up to vested interests, from house owners to corporations, would create a huge and lasting political win across a broad section of the electorate.

Only one presidential candidate had "DEI" and trans people as a major part of their campaign (and now have made those things a major part of the first two months of their presidency) and it wasn't the Democrats. It's kinda shocking to me that people think the Democrats have been running on social issues while Republicans haven't. I'm curious the sorta of media people watch that make them believe this.
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