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Sadly as populism continues to rally across Europe, I cannot imagine this getting better anymore soon. Especially since populism tends to lean heavily towards v
by hak8or 7y ago
Sadly as populism continues to rally across Europe, I cannot imagine this getting better anymore soon. Especially since populism tends to lean heavily towards very short term and shallow solutions instead of long term permanent ones.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoWhy is quality of life and levels of happiness so much higher in Europe then (EDIT: compared to other first world countries)?
- falcrist 7y agoThat really depends on where you're comparing Europe to...
- point78 7y agoThe rest of the world? EU tops rankings for quality of life and standard of living every year. Sprinkle in some canadian, Australian Japanese and new Zealand cities an there is your top 50.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- rizzom5000 7y agoAccording to Mercer, who conducts - 'The quality of living survey is conducted to help governments and major companies place employees on international assignments. The survey also identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based upon internal stability, crime, effectiveness of law enforcement and relationships with other countries. In this case, Luxembourg is top, followed by Bern, Helsinki and Zürich, all equally placed at number 2.' 'Countries with cities commonly ranked in the top 50 include Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Sweden and the United States. Vienna (Austria) has been ranked first for ten consecutive years.' I mean, sure, Germany has more cities on the list than the US; but Germany isn't the EU. Most of the EU has zero cities in the top 50.
- reillyse 7y agoThe US has zero cities in the top 30 of that list, not really supporting your argument. (EDIT, it is also amazingly US centric and still doesn't rate US cities higher, NYC is given a base score of 100 and other cities are essentially compared to it).
- point78 7y agoGermany isn't the EU? What? EU has 30 of the top 50 places....US has 6...come on now.
- sjoebergco 7y agoIsn't Europe kind of pessimistic/ economically stagnant? I mean, pets are happy on the way to the vet as well (but what about after?).
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- closeparen 7y agoI hadn’t realized you thought that. Will you then withdraw your claims in other threads that American style suburban sprawl is necessary for happiness and quality of life? That American cities far less dense than their European counterparts are full?
- toomuchtodo 7y agoIf I can’t have European sane labor regulations and universal healthcare, I’ll still take my suburban low density housing. So...no. I stick by my claims (Europeans have a different value system than Americans, which I argue is a substantial component as to why they’re happier with “less” than Americans). Also, I am flattered (truly!) that our conversations have left a lasting impression wrt my opinion on American housing.
- kwijibob 7y agoWhy would you link the leftist policy of rent control with populism?
- malandrew 7y agopopulism: "a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups." ordinary people = renters elite groups = rentier class democracy = mob rule When more than 50% of the populace are renters they have the power to enact rent control in democracies.
- kyruzic 7y agoYou don't understand anything about either term you used. Populism is not and has never been a right wing thing. Populism is the idea the the people should control society and their interests are more important than abstract concepts like the economy which benefit primarily the elite. The term has no political leaning. Rent control is not a leftist policy. It's neoliberalism. Neoliberalism is not leftist in the slightest. It's simply a rebranding of right wing policy. Rent control is populism.
- alexbilbie 7y agoRent control is not a neoliberal policy - neoliberalism promotes free markets and de-regulation with which rent control does not align to.
- curiousgal 7y agoAs opposed to..? Letting the market handle it? That worked wonders about a decade ago.
- Camas 7y agoAs opposed to building more and denser housing.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoSometimes, you cannot build more housing, or denser housing, so you use rent control so tenants who do live there don't spend all of their income on housing, and some people don't get to live there (because of housing limits). If you turned San Francisco into Manhattan, and still had unquenched demand for housing while still maximizing every square meter of three dimensional space within desired geo bounds, what then? "Build baby build" is not a silver bullet.
- Camas 7y ago>Sometimes, you cannot build more housing, or denser housing A hypothetical possibility that doesn't hold true for any city that has enacted rent controls. "Build baby build" is a silver bullet.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- HarryHirsch 7y agoIn New York City the subway is running at capacity. Building housing isn't enough, you also need infrastructure.
- pzone 7y agoBrooklyn resident here. Plenty of room on the subway during my morning commute. Wish they would build more condos here so I could enter the market.
- harimau777 7y agoLife is short and problems are often immediate so in many cases people need short term solutions. I think what is really needed are approaches that provide short term relief while fixing the long term causes of problems.
- kyruzic 7y agoStop pretending populism is a bad thing. The people should be in charge.