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

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

#201

Post by mapotofu »

eschulz wrote: post #176

I'm probably the only person here who has been in a Walmart in the last year or two, but recently I found that my local Walmart offers a warm counter with freshly prepared small bites, and you can get a respectable chicken sandwich for $2. It's a decent small meal, and the same item would probably be $6-$12 at a fast foot joint. I guess each individual Walmart is big enough to offer these bites to their shoppers.

That’s not a respectable sandwich. They have it at mine too, by the produce, which would be a better choice than eating that.

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

#202

Post by erikerikson »

makestuff wrote: post #196
erikerikson wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Curious what time period this was. For example, if you lived in Portland in 2019 and Seattle in 2023 it could just be inflation causing people to go out less.

Great point. Temporarily separated samplings would have that effect. However, I moved directly from Portland to Seattle. Further, I have returned to Portland and found it to be just as wonderful a place to eat out as before.

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

#203

Post by f30e3dfed1c9 »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #187
ecshafer wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually yes, that is by design. There is a reason the US had property ownership as a requirement to vote in the constitution. Whether removing that requirement was correct or not is up for debate. But there is a distinction in a democracy between an active citizen and a passive citizen . An active citizen is someone that has skin in the game and is a willing participant in the process. A passive citizen is someone t…

It was because they thought that landowners would direct the votes of the people who lived on that land. The same reason was given for not allowing women to vote. https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1645 This comes directly from a historical British restriction on voting rights that in turn is an artifact of feudalism. https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_2_1s3.... Ancient democracies, including th…

Yeah I know. My point is that in the US, in 2026, whether voting should be restricted to property owners is not "up for debate," except maybe among a certain set of cranks.

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

#204

Post by vel0city »

potato3732842 wrote: post #194
vel0city wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

People who conflate "not actively regulated and inspected with government permission being given before stuff even happens" with "sub par" as if that's not reductive at best is exactly how we got here.

Most people don't make a point to go out of their way to avoid having rules applied if they're intending on following the rules. I don't think its that big of a leap.

You're also misreading my comment. I'm not saying they definitely will do a sub-par job, but that its now an option, that they can do it. And given its the cheaper option (up front at least), it probably will happen more often. And especially when it comes to stuff like wiring, where once the walls are all sealed it can be expensive to inspect later, and yet if done improperly may kill your family and destroy most of what you own.

Just like that restaurant I give as an example, its not necessary they definitely will ignore food safety rules, but they sure make an effort and pride them selves to the ability to ignore them whenever they want.

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

#205

Post by pepperball »

f30e3dfed1c9 wrote: post #203
lern_too_spel wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was because they thought that landowners would direct the votes of the people who lived on that land. The same reason was given for not allowing women to vote. https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1645 This comes directly from a historical British restriction on voting rights that in turn is an artifact of feudalism. https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_2_1s3.... Ancient democracies, including th…

Yeah I know. My point is that in the US, in 2026, whether voting should be restricted to property owners is not "up for debate," except maybe among a certain set of cranks.

> except maybe among a certain set of cranks.

Eh, a growing set of cranks. The diversity of political opinion in America seems to have exploded over the last decade. Cranks are now serious contenders for power and influence.

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

#206

Post by mjr00 »

epistasis wrote: post #158
KellyCriterion wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...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?

Somebody who spends 3-4 years in a place has an immense interest in how it's governed. Their view is 100% as valid as yours, and they should have equal voice, if we are going to judge people based on how long they live somewhere. I live in a college town. Why shouldn't student voices be represented, when they are a huge chunk of our community? Maybe I'm too US focused, and have been accused of that a lot recently, bu…

There's a massive difference between "will be in a place for 3-4 years maximum, then leaving" vs "has been in a place for 3-4 years but is planning on staying permanently." In the former case their interests are going to be short-term and might not align with long-term residences. Per your example, university students would vote against allocating funds toward schools or playgrounds, because they know they're not going to be raising a family there. Or more globally, you have the population of "digital nomads" who are working in Vietnam/Thailand for a few years before they come back to the US.

It's pretty debatable if these temporary residents should have the same voting rights as permanent residents, since their interests are going to be at odds with long-term residents. I would not be happy if schools got defunded because university students who are only going to be there for a few years wanted to lower alcohol taxes.

Permanent residency/citizenship being a prerequisite for voting is used as a (very imperfect) screening for this.

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

#207

Post by veidr »

jawns wrote: post #117

If you want a fast, healthy, balanced meal for $4 or less, the obvious choice in America is a frozen meal (aka TV dinner). You can microwave it in 4-6 minutes; ingredients are often flash-frozen, locking in nutrients; and food-safety concerns are addressed at scale, rather than in a hit-or-miss way in a tiny storefront. So perhaps, instead of advocating for more tiny restaurants that would likely need to skimp on saf…

Not sure I can accept most of your assertions, but anyway, I left America in 2008 and IIRC there were microwaves available in every 7-11 even then?

There were't any $4 healthy bowls of anything, but there were $2 "red hot beef & bean" (& fake soy filler) burritos which hit the spot if you'd failed to find a way to eat real food...

The problem with the microwave solution, I think, is that pretty much only burritos and pasta can be packaged in a microwavable way that still tastes good? And maybe like a few kinds of vegetable side dishes.

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

#208

Post by veidr »

greenie_beans wrote: post #105
postflopclarity wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

failing to understand that the rent is too high because of zoning laws is lazy analysis.

if you are going to have a rebuttal, at least give a little bit why my take is lazy analysis. (and i'm aware your argument exists, and it's also wrong!)

why wrong? seems extremely obvious

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

#209

Post by pas »

cornholio wrote: post #193
favflam wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some politician in Japan pushed zoning away from cities up to the prefecture and national level. So locals do not get veto rights over new construction.

It's an archetypal social coordination problem that can't be solved at a local level. If relaxed zoning pushes all new buildings into my neighborhood, because all other vote against it, then I'm going to end up with 20 stories of balconies hanging above my property but see no benefits, not even indirect ones like lower rents leading to lower inflation and prices etc. Some developer will simply capture that rent - bot…

if your neighborhood gets denser you will see the benefits

if you want to live there you can pick from more options

developers capture value, but the buildings are there

obviously the usual problem is that the land value goes up, and thus the rent goes up too (because suddenly the neighborhood becomes more desirable - which again is a sign of benefits for those who already live there)

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

#210

Post by milkytron »

verisimi wrote: post #157
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…

> most have rose tinted glasses of better economic times from the past, and want to recreate the past instead of learning from it and using it to make the future better for future residents and businesses So the voters are wrong? You know what's "better" for them, right? Whether they want it or not, right? > we need to figure out how to get young people engaged locally Because they are more in line with what you thin…

> So the voters are wrong? You know what's "better" for them, right? Whether they want it or not, right?

It doesn't really matter what I think when 5% of the population are controlling policy that impacts 100% of the population.

> Because they are more in line with what you think?

No, because they will be impacted for a longer period of time, and are less engaged locally.

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