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No the city does not choose to subsidize the suburbs. These decisions are not made at the city-level. (Not, to say, that I necessarily like the decisions that a

No the city does not choose to subsidize the suburbs. These decisions are not made at the city-level. (Not, to say, that I necessarily like the decisions that are made at the city-level either.) American state and local governance is generally pretty dogshit. But this is where I am from, and this is where most of the people that I know live, so...sucks. Just because those reasons (or "frictions", if you assume I could meet other people somewhere else just fine) lead me to stay (for now) doesn't mean that there are not real problems.

9rx 1y ago
> No the city does not choose to subsidize the suburbs. Cities do often subsidize suburbs by their own choice. Absent in this thread is exactly what subsidies are being discussed, of course. But either way, moving away from the city still removes one from the situation. It was made abundantly clear that it was the city offering the subsidy. Don't like the city, don't be there. Simple as that. > doesn't mean that there are not real problems. "If the subsidy isn't working, he won't be alone in wanting change. No doubt the community is simply waiting for someone to stand up and resolve the matter. Things don't get fixed by way of magic." If all of this is to say that the value you find in the subsidy is simply that it allows you to be lazy — to not have to do anything about it — that can certainly still be valuable. We're not here to judge what one finds valuable. But what is clear is that there is some kind of value that is recognized, but withheld from the reader. "I don't want to subsidize X" is a stupid statement without also "and I am willing to give up A, B, and C" for it to go. There isn't a person on earth who wants to give something in a vacuum.
- Ericson2314 1y ago
  The US is in a state of immense grid-lock. It is not that the suburbs like ripping me off more than I like being ripped off, it's that everyone has very limited power against an extremely inert status quo. I am not currently involved with efforts to e.g. repeal the mortgage tax deduction, change highway vs public transit funding ratios, institute a land value tax and other things, but I am very involved with https://www.etany.org/ https://www.etany.org/ and peripherally involved with https://opennewyork.org/ https://opennewyork.org/, which ought to change some things. This is the best I can do for now.

9rx 1y ago

> No the city does not choose to subsidize the suburbs. Cities do often subsidize suburbs by their own choice. Absent in this thread is exactly what subsidies are being discussed, of course. But either way, moving away from the city still removes one from the situation. It was made abundantly clear that it was the city offering the subsidy. Don't like the city, don't be there. Simple as that. > doesn't mean that there are not real problems. "If the subsidy isn't working, he won't be alone in wanting change. No doubt the community is simply waiting for someone to stand up and resolve the matter. Things don't get fixed by way of magic." If all of this is to say that the value you find in the subsidy is simply that it allows you to be lazy — to not have to do anything about it — that can certainly still be valuable. We're not here to judge what one finds valuable. But what is clear is that there is some kind of value that is recognized, but withheld from the reader. "I don't want to subsidize X" is a stupid statement without also "and I am willing to give up A, B, and C" for it to go. There isn't a person on earth who wants to give something in a vacuum.

Ericson2314 1y ago
The US is in a state of immense grid-lock. It is not that the suburbs like ripping me off more than I like being ripped off, it's that everyone has very limited power against an extremely inert status quo. I am not currently involved with efforts to e.g. repeal the mortgage tax deduction, change highway vs public transit funding ratios, institute a land value tax and other things, but I am very involved with https://www.etany.org/ https://www.etany.org/ and peripherally involved with https://opennewyork.org/ https://opennewyork.org/, which ought to change some things. This is the best I can do for now.