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Pretty much any zoning policy is based on protecting incumbents over newcomers. I'm slowly coming around to the idea that trying to move to a major city is jus

Pretty much any zoning policy is based on protecting incumbents over newcomers. I'm slowly coming around to the idea that trying to move to a major city is just daft unless you're very wealthy. You're intentionally choosing to compete on a stage that you don't have to compete in and there are generally huge stacks of rules set up to ensure that it's difficult for you to do so.

falcolas 7y ago
> Pretty much any zoning policy is based on protecting incumbents over newcomers. And why shouldn’t it? They’re already living there, paying taxes, participating in the economy, and participating in the community. Everyone else, however, only might live there. There’s no guarantee. “My friends and I would make much better use of your grand piano than you do, so it should be taken from you and given to us.”
- esotericn 7y ago
  I don't think it shouldn't. Hence the second half of my post. Let them have their fun.
- jnordwick 7y ago
  Because you shouldnt get to tell me how I live and the size of an apartment I should live in. If I want to live in an 80 square foot box, as long as I'm keeping it clean and safe, you really shouldn't have a say in it just because you have a place down the street. One of the worst parts of democracy is the deletion of individual rights and the majority telling the minority how they should live.
  - qarlow 7y ago
    I don't really see your point. Places were the government don't care about how people live aren't very nice. In fact they are often outright authoritarian, much more so than any "tyranny of democracy". Preventing people from falling too far in the first place by having standards is a much better idea than often unchecked enforcement after the fact.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    If nobody had ever been kicked out of their normal apartment after having their rent artificially raised to build those 80 sqft apartments, I might agree with you. If nobody had ever had their house forclosed for the “greater good” and had efficiency apartments put in their place, I might agree with you. Both of these scenarios have happened. I don’t agree with you. This isn’t democracy in action, this is fighting back against unrestrained capitalism which would make everyone’s living conditions equally miserable in an effort to extract the most money possible out of them. And as an aside, it’s not as if the apartment owners have no say in the process either; its worth wondering why they aren’t throwing their considerable power around as well.

falcolas 7y ago

> Pretty much any zoning policy is based on protecting incumbents over newcomers. And why shouldn’t it? They’re already living there, paying taxes, participating in the economy, and participating in the community. Everyone else, however, only might live there. There’s no guarantee. “My friends and I would make much better use of your grand piano than you do, so it should be taken from you and given to us.”

esotericn 7y ago
I don't think it shouldn't. Hence the second half of my post. Let them have their fun.
jnordwick 7y ago
Because you shouldnt get to tell me how I live and the size of an apartment I should live in. If I want to live in an 80 square foot box, as long as I'm keeping it clean and safe, you really shouldn't have a say in it just because you have a place down the street. One of the worst parts of democracy is the deletion of individual rights and the majority telling the minority how they should live.
- qarlow 7y ago
  I don't really see your point. Places were the government don't care about how people live aren't very nice. In fact they are often outright authoritarian, much more so than any "tyranny of democracy". Preventing people from falling too far in the first place by having standards is a much better idea than often unchecked enforcement after the fact.
- falcolas 7y ago
  If nobody had ever been kicked out of their normal apartment after having their rent artificially raised to build those 80 sqft apartments, I might agree with you. If nobody had ever had their house forclosed for the “greater good” and had efficiency apartments put in their place, I might agree with you. Both of these scenarios have happened. I don’t agree with you. This isn’t democracy in action, this is fighting back against unrestrained capitalism which would make everyone’s living conditions equally miserable in an effort to extract the most money possible out of them. And as an aside, it’s not as if the apartment owners have no say in the process either; its worth wondering why they aren’t throwing their considerable power around as well.