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>The author hints at the political problem of adopting a land tax near the end: But there are practical problems with a land tax — perhaps the largest of which
by eli_gottlieb 11y ago
>The author hints at the political problem of adopting a land tax near the end: But there are practical problems with a land tax — perhaps the largest of which is that by its very nature it hits the well-connected rich hardest. So we may very well never see this regulation brought up or passed given the current, money-greased machinations of the political machine.
You know, neoliberal corruption of government isn't Written in Stone by the Three Fates. We can actually fight it, especially when there's $2 trillion at stake.
>[1] Perhaps this paper assumes that there is an infinite supply of highly-skilled tech workers who have taken jobs elsewhere due to high costs of rent? Seems a bit far-fetched to me.
I don't know about infinite, but I sure as hell know that I personally choose not to live in the Bay Area, despite its having loads of tech opportunities and the nicest climate on the planet, because of its high housing costs and suburban sprawl.
- kbenson 11y ago> I personally choose not to live in the Bay Area, despite its having loads of tech opportunities and the nicest climate on the planet You should give us another look. Our long term plan to reduce the number of rainy days per year is finally paying off!
- nugget 11y agoSouthern California has a nicer climate than Northern California and is cheaper (since there's less tech). The ''best'' climate in the US is probably San Diego up to Santa Barbara within 5 miles of the coast. San Francisco (the city itself) has infamously frustrating weather.
- a_t48 11y agoNicer how? I've only been down there once, and it was super warm.
- Eiriksmal 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_San_Diego#Monthly_averages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_San_Diego#Monthly_a... It's utterly beautiful most of the year, and only gets slightly uncomfortable for a few weeks during summer. I live 8 miles from the Pacific and this week's forecast is almost sublime, compared to the continental climate I grew up in. Boiling hot summers? No. Sweaty, muggy, mosquito fests from July through late September? No. Freezing winters from late October through early March? No.
- zeveb 11y agoI've been to San Diego, and IMHO its summer, spring and fall are uncomfortably warm. > Freezing winters from late October through early March? No. Some of us find freezing cold and snow to be pros rather than cons.
- rayiner 11y ago> The average annual precipitation is less than 12 inches (300 mm), resulting in a borderline arid climate. San Diego would be uninhabitable without environmentally destructive and ill-conceived federal irrigation of the southwest.
- secabeen 11y agoIt's interesting how similar the temperature is between San Diego and Santa Barbara, despite their distance from each other. I always think of SD as much warmer than SB, but the data doesn't show that to be the case. I do like the cool nights in the winter that we get in SB.
- Eiriksmal 11y agoWoah, woah, woah. This is not okay. San Diegans already pay a "sunshine tax" on our incredibly perfect weather. Telling other people about it only encourages the city to grow larger! Next thing you know, there'll be YC companies in San Diego and Orange County.
- eli_gottlieb 11y agoI like rain. I like it in storms rather than in constant, nonstop clouds and drizzle like the Northwest gets, but I do actually like rain.
- PeterWhittaker 11y agoYes, but those few remaining rainy days will be positively diluvian - not to mention tempestuous.
- aidenn0 11y agoFighting regulatory capture with regulation is very, very hard. Fighting it by repealing regulation is also very, very hard.
- venomsnake 11y agoWhat is left then - the Robespierre way?
- aidenn0 11y agoIANAPS (I Am Not a Political Scientist), but I consider regulatory capture (outside of anarchy) to be the single most important unsolved problem in policy. I think, in general, regulation works best as a threat (clean up your act, or we will). But for a threat to be credible, you need to follow-through on it from time-to-time. The recent issue with the FCC and Comcast et. al. is an example of this. 20 years from now, we are going to regret that the FCC has increased authority over ISPs, but the actions of the cable oligopolies left little choice.