4 ms·
It's regularly commented-on that the reason we don't have widespread public bathrooms like many other developed and Middle-income countries is due to insane law
by wutbrodo 6y ago
It's regularly commented-on that the reason we don't have widespread public bathrooms like many other developed and Middle-income countries is due to insane laws prohibiting against pay toilets, on the grounds that. Turns out when you don't allow pay toilets, you end up with no public toilets at all, even in places like San Francisco where the government attempts to pour money into providing them.
It's a very "American left" pitfall: make the victims of your "compassion" worse off as long as you avoid the appearance of inequity. See also: payday loans, boxing gloves, etc
- optimiz3 6y agoThe problem with public toilets is they become massive hazards if you can't police them. Things like prostitution, drug use, homelessness, and crime all become concerns. Neither the Left nor Right have root cause credible solutions for this.
- wutbrodo 6y agoThe credible solution already existed, before we prohibited private entities from providing restrooms. Banning pay toilets effectively meant banning public toilets, since municipalities self-evidently don't have the will or competence to maintain them. This is one of those big problems that isn't actually that hard.