3 ms·

Here in Seattle in the 2000s there was a huge push to tear down or repurpose all the motels along Aurora Avenue as they were viewed as promoting prostitution.

Here in Seattle in the 2000s there was a huge push to tear down or repurpose all the motels along Aurora Avenue as they were viewed as promoting prostitution. Now, with many fewer motels we have shrank our pool of ultras affordable, unsubsidized housing and prostitutes just take their johns to the alleyways to do the deed.

Analemma_ 5y ago
I literally just drove southbound on Aurora about an hour ago and saw three street walkers between 160th and 80th so I think it’s safe to say that effort was a total failure.
- CryptoPunk 5y ago
  The idea that reducing low quality housing raises quality of life is the same fallacy that's behind minimum wage prohibition. When you prohibit micro-units and other low-income/low-quality housing, you don't get more high quality housing. You get more homelessness. When you prohibit low-wage work, you don't get more high-paying jobs. You get more unemployment. The only process that actually increases the quantity of high quality housing and high paying jobs, is investment, and investment is motivated and sustained by investment profits, which left-wing populists demagogue so much about, and political leaders enact so many laws to inhibit (e.g. laws against price gouging, rent control, tax rates that progress with income, etc).
  - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    >When you prohibit low-wage work, you don't get more high-paying jobs. You get more unemployment. That wasn't the experience of the UK when we introduced a minimum wage.
    - CryptoPunk 5y ago
      I mean ceteris paribus. There are numerous other factors that can counter-act the negative impact of price floors, so introducing a price floor, especially one that only affects on the order of 4% of the merchandise, as in the case of minimum wage, does not always correspond with a rise in un-used capacity (unemployment), let alone one that is profound.
    - asteroidbelt 5y ago
      What was the experience in the UK? I googled it, and seems like full time unemployment didn’t fall, but part time employment felt a little. Additionally I don’t know (didn’t find) what was the effective minimum wage before the min wage act. If it was already almost equal to min wage, the law was effectively no op. I.e. wages didn’t went up.

Analemma_ 5y ago

I literally just drove southbound on Aurora about an hour ago and saw three street walkers between 160th and 80th so I think it’s safe to say that effort was a total failure.

CryptoPunk 5y ago
The idea that reducing low quality housing raises quality of life is the same fallacy that's behind minimum wage prohibition. When you prohibit micro-units and other low-income/low-quality housing, you don't get more high quality housing. You get more homelessness. When you prohibit low-wage work, you don't get more high-paying jobs. You get more unemployment. The only process that actually increases the quantity of high quality housing and high paying jobs, is investment, and investment is motivated and sustained by investment profits, which left-wing populists demagogue so much about, and political leaders enact so many laws to inhibit (e.g. laws against price gouging, rent control, tax rates that progress with income, etc).
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  >When you prohibit low-wage work, you don't get more high-paying jobs. You get more unemployment. That wasn't the experience of the UK when we introduced a minimum wage.
  - CryptoPunk 5y ago
    I mean ceteris paribus. There are numerous other factors that can counter-act the negative impact of price floors, so introducing a price floor, especially one that only affects on the order of 4% of the merchandise, as in the case of minimum wage, does not always correspond with a rise in un-used capacity (unemployment), let alone one that is profound.
  - asteroidbelt 5y ago
    What was the experience in the UK? I googled it, and seems like full time unemployment didn’t fall, but part time employment felt a little. Additionally I don’t know (didn’t find) what was the effective minimum wage before the min wage act. If it was already almost equal to min wage, the law was effectively no op. I.e. wages didn’t went up.