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We’reTexas

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by We’reTexas

  1. That’s interesting - why? I say this from the perspective of a Texpat in San Francisco (a market sometimes more expensive than NY, despite the assertions of some). Not to get too in the weeds on housing policy, but Mamdani’s platform consists of (1) doubling down on rent control, perhaps the most widely panned economic policy besides tariffs, (2) fully subsidized BMR housing (that’s going at around $1.3m per 1k sq ft unit in SF and DC - I’d assume NYC is the same and they need 1 million units in the next decade. The math doesn’t math.) and (3) allowing market rate development only to the extent it is weighed down by interest group concessions to the point it isn’t economically feasible. My apologies, that was still too much in the weeds, but the upshot is that the progressive approach has a very low likelihood of success because it is simply not realistic regardless of any level of support. More fundamentally, it is not designed to succeed because it is based on a politics of scarcity that favors incumbent residents at the expense of future ones, which is a fair summation of blue city progressive politics overall. I don’t think this scarcity mindset is necessary, so I vote against it. To his credit, Zohran is a very positive guy who, unlike most DSA types, tries to avoid the zero sum class warfare game when it comes to affordability.
  2. Thank you for the negs. My criticism of Mondami has nothing to do with New York City specifically. I live in a city equally as expensive and have been involved in housing advocacy for a decade. As we are both from Houston, I find your hostility confusing. Might you explain how the housing economics of NYC does not comport with the rest of America?
  3. What I am trying to explain is that both approaches are so utterly divorced from reality that they deserve ridicule.
  4. What are you talking about? His platform is lock stock and barrel the progressive position that has dominated NYC, SF, DC and LA since like the 70’s. As is the rest of his platform, just glossed up on Tik Tok Edit: Bozo said it better.
  5. Because if it’s Dem v Dem, policy matters. And btw, his housing policies (which have been the de facto coastal blue city approach for forty years) benefit the wealthy at the expense of brown people that aren’t incumbent renters and will only contribute to NY and CA losing house seats to TX.
  6. Think “build the wall and make Mexico pay for it” but make it leftist housing policy.
  7. Is this a serious question? Anyways, I don’t think it’s exactly a mystery that he is an affluent guy LARPing as DSA working class hero. There’s plenty of other content out there for amusement.
  8. Seriously, does not seem like much of a story. There is more than enough to ridicule the guy on, this seems quite messed up (and they have his SAT scores apparently).
  9. Hey now, you forgot about opening up the floodgates of private development as long as there’s 20% inclusionary zoning, 100% union labor, rent control on all new development, thorough environmental review, thorough community review, just a little more community review…
  10. I that’s a little charitable and this is more of a progressive versus liberal “everyone to the right of me is a fascist” thing.
  11. +1, but recommend not literally renting a car from the city center as that is quite a harrowing experience. Last time in the Loire we stayed at an old monastery, Fontevraud Abbey, near Chinon. Would recommend.
  12. It’s not RCV itself, it’s just the local election administration rules in place. The RCV can be done in minutes. Some places wait until all ballots are counted, I guess because they don’t like the idea of a candidate being eliminated one day and brought back the next, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In San Francisco we see the RCV results real time.
  13. Beautiful day to head up to Tomales Bay. Food-wise I give Marshall Store the edge but nothing beats the HI patio on a day like this.
  14. Stabilization vs control is basically a distinction without a difference these days (in SF the increase is capped around 2% usually). In addition to everything you mentioned, it decreases the rental supply as landlords take vacant units off the market for condo conversion (or sell to corporate owners with the means to evict). And there is no means testing - I’ve know a few people with such great deals they bought houses in Sonoma or Tahoe and kept their city apartments. And yet in pure Tobias Funke “but maybe this time” fashion, it persists (although St Paul is already walking its disastrous experiment back after just two years).
  15. I’m just a San Francisco lib who wants to build housing, so all over, I guess.
  16. I mean, to be fair, this is a DSA progressive and I don’t think even they would disagree with that.
  17. Station 6 in Bucktown is a little nicer for a sit down and easy on/off.
  18. Pretty much sums up my thoughts, but too alarmist. Zohrans had their run along the West Coast 2018-22 and totally failed. Seems like a nice guy but the type of leader that is going to set us up for success.
  19. What I am getting at is in terms of policy and politics we need pragmatic leadership and good governance that delivers tangible, long term results. For example, in blue cities like NYC, the “free market” in housing development is a very novel concept. Rent control, a focus on subsidized housing development and a near-total opposition to market development are very old concepts that only made the problem worse. The math doesn’t math for those progressive measures - and most others - and while they are nonetheless wildly popular for large swaths of voters doubling down on them is a terrible idea as a matter of policy. They are also wildly unpopular with larger swaths of voters. There has been a backlash against progressives in San Francisco, LA, Seattle and Portland. Chciago’s progressive mayor’s approval is at like 20% right now. I’d be hesitant to read much more into the NYC race other than Zohran seems like a really nice guy and the front runner is an old and rapey and killed senior citizens.
  20. That’s a great point I will concede. Leftist populism definitely has the appeal of having voters choose overall terrible policy decisions in favor of their immediate self interest. Oof, the tankie edginess is strong with this one.
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