4 ms·

I think a basic issue here is that they're claiming this is to build housing, but this is not gonna help our housing issues: - the housing crisis isn't about a

by abeppu 1y ago

I think a basic issue here is that they're claiming this is to build housing, but this is not gonna help our housing issues: - the housing crisis isn't about a lack of land to build on really - there's a decent amount of vacant housing, but it's not meeting people's needs if it's far from jobs, schools, food, healthcare, or if it financially doesn't make sense - especially in the western states where most of the BLM land is, building more housing surrounded by/abutting wild land creates/exacerbates fire risks, which perhaps makes new housing expensive or impossible to insure, etc. So even setting aside the environmental or even ethical objections to this (did a property developer lobby for this?), it just seems like a bad way to accomplish their stated goals.

deepsquirrelnet 1y ago
I live in the West and have spent a lot of time on BLM land and in rural parts of Utah. The housing argument seems specious to me. BLM land is often on the extreme end of rural. A lot of it is uninhabitable - no utilities, no buildable acreage, no jobs nearby, very limited accessibility. I don’t see it as a good faith argument, but open to be corrected.
- tstrimple 1y ago
  One less place to crash for free in a tent as well. "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread."
phatskat 1y ago
> did a property developer lobby for this? Maybe not a real one but…surely there’s a way this is a scam, right? Could this be feasible: “we bought all this land for houses but oops did some market research and found out <no one would live here/it’s too far away/etc>, guess we’ll have to sell it to someone who can strip it for resources. Sorrrry teehee”
locopati 1y ago
Because their stated goals are lies. At what point do we accept that people who lie a lot aren't to be trusted at all?

by abeppu 1y ago

deepsquirrelnet 1y ago

I live in the West and have spent a lot of time on BLM land and in rural parts of Utah. The housing argument seems specious to me. BLM land is often on the extreme end of rural. A lot of it is uninhabitable - no utilities, no buildable acreage, no jobs nearby, very limited accessibility. I don’t see it as a good faith argument, but open to be corrected.

tstrimple 1y ago
One less place to crash for free in a tent as well. "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread."

phatskat 1y ago

> did a property developer lobby for this? Maybe not a real one but…surely there’s a way this is a scam, right? Could this be feasible: “we bought all this land for houses but oops did some market research and found out <no one would live here/it’s too far away/etc>, guess we’ll have to sell it to someone who can strip it for resources. Sorrrry teehee”

locopati 1y ago

Because their stated goals are lies. At what point do we accept that people who lie a lot aren't to be trusted at all?