4 ms·

With any luck they will prevent the people that keep the lights on and the sewage flowing from ever setting foot in their city at all.

munk-a 4y ago
That seems unlikely considering that businesses are much more rational at costing things out than hobbyists.
- tengbretson 4y ago
  In a skilled labor market that is supply-constrained the rational thing to do might be to just go elsewhere.
  - munk-a 4y ago
    Potentially - the truly rational response is to incorporate the additional fees into your operating costs and if you're running a plumbing business those costs are going to be amortized across a whole lot of clients and might end up being pretty negligible. You'd likely see more stratification between the DC and adjacent markets though - some proportion of the plumbers based in Arlington might refuse to serve DC proper to avoid the fee (if it were somehow enforced on them, which seems difficult given they're relying on registration) - but that'd lower supply and possibly give plumbers who do remain in the DC market more command over their price. Either way, when you're talking about running a business, if a 500$ expense is going to break the bank you're probably teetering on the edge of insolvency anyways.
kube-system 4y ago
Nobody is choosing whether they live in DC or not based on a $500/year fee to register a 6000lb vehicle.
hahaxdxd123 4y ago
I distinctly remember seeing one day in Palo Alto, a pristine pearl-white lifted F250 alongside a battered old Ford Ranger that was actually carrying tools in its bed. The Ford Ranger was no larger or heavier than my sedan.
- bo1024 4y ago
  To put this another way, hopefully these fees could pressure manufacturers to produce vehicles that are just as useful, but don't create as bad externalities (pollution, danger).
  - nradov 4y ago
    The fees aren't necessary to pressure manufacturers. Ford already sells much smaller, lighter pickup trucks including the Maverick and Ranger.
- nicbou 4y ago
  In Europe small cargo vans work just fine, and they're basically regular cars with a boxy rear. You can fit quite a lot in those.
  - throwaway0a5e 4y ago
    The Ford and the Fiat city vans are popular in the US with fleet buyers. Their load capacity is a bit lacking compared to the old school minivans they get compared to but nevertheless they are popular.
- silisili 4y ago
  My first 'car' was an early 90s Ranger. A truck in design, but rather small. Underpowered and got decent gas mileage for the time. My last car was an Equinox...I believe they refer to it as a small or midsize crossover? It's much larger than that old truck in every metric. And the new Rangers are as big or bigger than older F150s. Seems we're going the wrong direction on car design...

munk-a 4y ago

That seems unlikely considering that businesses are much more rational at costing things out than hobbyists.

tengbretson 4y ago
In a skilled labor market that is supply-constrained the rational thing to do might be to just go elsewhere.
- munk-a 4y ago
  Potentially - the truly rational response is to incorporate the additional fees into your operating costs and if you're running a plumbing business those costs are going to be amortized across a whole lot of clients and might end up being pretty negligible. You'd likely see more stratification between the DC and adjacent markets though - some proportion of the plumbers based in Arlington might refuse to serve DC proper to avoid the fee (if it were somehow enforced on them, which seems difficult given they're relying on registration) - but that'd lower supply and possibly give plumbers who do remain in the DC market more command over their price. Either way, when you're talking about running a business, if a 500$ expense is going to break the bank you're probably teetering on the edge of insolvency anyways.

kube-system 4y ago

Nobody is choosing whether they live in DC or not based on a $500/year fee to register a 6000lb vehicle.

hahaxdxd123 4y ago

I distinctly remember seeing one day in Palo Alto, a pristine pearl-white lifted F250 alongside a battered old Ford Ranger that was actually carrying tools in its bed. The Ford Ranger was no larger or heavier than my sedan.

bo1024 4y ago
To put this another way, hopefully these fees could pressure manufacturers to produce vehicles that are just as useful, but don't create as bad externalities (pollution, danger).
- nradov 4y ago
  The fees aren't necessary to pressure manufacturers. Ford already sells much smaller, lighter pickup trucks including the Maverick and Ranger.
nicbou 4y ago
In Europe small cargo vans work just fine, and they're basically regular cars with a boxy rear. You can fit quite a lot in those.
- throwaway0a5e 4y ago
  The Ford and the Fiat city vans are popular in the US with fleet buyers. Their load capacity is a bit lacking compared to the old school minivans they get compared to but nevertheless they are popular.
silisili 4y ago
My first 'car' was an early 90s Ranger. A truck in design, but rather small. Underpowered and got decent gas mileage for the time. My last car was an Equinox...I believe they refer to it as a small or midsize crossover? It's much larger than that old truck in every metric. And the new Rangers are as big or bigger than older F150s. Seems we're going the wrong direction on car design...