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Here we have the eternal struggle between people who know what they do and do not want, and other people who want to know better for the first group. People wh

Here we have the eternal struggle between people who know what they do and do not want, and other people who want to know better for the first group. People who want to live in a single-family residence, they hate the noise from inconsiderate neighbors, and weird smells (cooking or otherwise). They hate fighting for parking. Technically, it is possible to construct multi-family buildings with good noise insulation and decent venting. In reality, people who have had a lot of miserable experiences in apartment buildings and dorms know that this will emphatically not happen. It could! It really could! But it won't. It would be great if we were angels, but we are not. The people who construct apartment buildings cut so many corners, and we have ongoing evidence of issues with maintaining those buildings, which sometimes do things like collapse. Some people are not a lot of fun to live near, and people who recognize this want to put them at arm's length.

Daishiman 5y ago
This would be great if it weren't for the fact that suburbanites that want to avoid all these problems were paying for the externalities of their massive road usage, massive land usage, and a host of other issues. Suburban life is far, far more expensive for it to be sustainable than it is currently priced in most American suburbs. This issue cannot be overlooked.
- at_a_remove 5y ago
  That's not really what we are discussing here. What we are talking about are preferences, and people "talking over" those preferences, for the "good" of the other party. We can have a conversation about the costs, but we should really focus on the conversation on hand -- people have real preferences.
- uberman 5y ago
  I pay taxes on my car and gas and licensing as well as tolls. If you believe I don't pay enough by all means propose how I should pay more in a way that both the affluent and less fortunate would support. I will be happy to entertain how I might "pay for the roads I use". In a similar light, I pay property taxes on the land I ranch. I'm a software developer but I raise beef cattle and horses. Please let me know how you propose I pay for my massive land use outside of the taxes I already pay. Just keep in mind, that it would probably be best if other small business owners also agreed with your tax proposals.

Daishiman 5y ago

This would be great if it weren't for the fact that suburbanites that want to avoid all these problems were paying for the externalities of their massive road usage, massive land usage, and a host of other issues. Suburban life is far, far more expensive for it to be sustainable than it is currently priced in most American suburbs. This issue cannot be overlooked.

at_a_remove 5y ago
That's not really what we are discussing here. What we are talking about are preferences, and people "talking over" those preferences, for the "good" of the other party. We can have a conversation about the costs, but we should really focus on the conversation on hand -- people have real preferences.
uberman 5y ago
I pay taxes on my car and gas and licensing as well as tolls. If you believe I don't pay enough by all means propose how I should pay more in a way that both the affluent and less fortunate would support. I will be happy to entertain how I might "pay for the roads I use". In a similar light, I pay property taxes on the land I ranch. I'm a software developer but I raise beef cattle and horses. Please let me know how you propose I pay for my massive land use outside of the taxes I already pay. Just keep in mind, that it would probably be best if other small business owners also agreed with your tax proposals.