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Wow. I thought this was satire. I guess this kind of happens in Singapore, too. As the billionaires come in, the poorer locals encounter rising housing costs.

Wow. I thought this was satire. I guess this kind of happens in Singapore, too. As the billionaires come in, the poorer locals encounter rising housing costs. And unlike the US, Singapore is an island-city-state, so there's nowhere to run. I can't think of any solutions to this. Anybody have any ideas?

bishnu 13y ago
Build more housing?
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  In the UK, and it sounds like San Fran too, there are lots of special-interest-inspired laws making building new housing difficult. In Singapore, unlike many other countries where people think they're out of space (including the UK), they may well be really running out of space - I believe there are similar problems in Hong Kong.
  - gaius 13y ago
    You mean like the green belt? Once various plans to rebalance the economy away from London come to fruition (e.g. HS2) things will return to normal.
    - tehwalrus 13y ago
      LOL. Train lines connecting places to the capital just cause the capital to grow further[1]. New high speed lines between Manchester and Sheffield, and up from each to Glasgow and Edinburgh would help rebalance the economy as you suggest. But they're not planned for decades. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-stone-unturned-in-pursuit-of-growth https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-stone-unturned... and/or http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20142837 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20142837 - "The Heseltine Review" isn't a primary source of evidence for this assertion, but it's through this coverage that I learned of these ideas.
- visakanv 13y ago
  I think we're working on it, but the island is highly land-scarce, and if I understand correctly, prices are being driven up faster than new housing can adequately correct.
- michaelt 13y ago
  In many countries we place control of local planning/zoning issues in the hands of local residents - the very people who benefit most from the supply being restricted. I would love for there to be more houses in the place I want to live but can't. But I don't get a vote because I'm not a resident.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  That. The lack of intensification in some of the most valuable real-estate in the world is absurd. Build up! Also, while it stinks for people who are already tied into careers, having money flood into your community isn't exactly a bad thing for somebody entrepreneurial. I mean, if the new wealthy folks want to blow that cash locally, there's a lot of money to be made. It's demeaning in a "trickle-down" services sense, but it's cash to be had.
  - umsm 13y ago
    Will this increased building activities cost less than the current housing market rate? If a new property costs $500k to build, as a builder you would need to at least cover that cost. I can't imagine that this helps the poor unless it's government sponsored.
    - saosebastiao 13y ago
      The housing market rate will be lower with new housing than without it.
zorked 13y ago
Remote work?
- protomyth 13y ago
  Low income people tend to be doing jobs that cannot be done "over the wire" such as service jobs.
  - visakanv 13y ago
    Yep, the blue-collar folk are the worst hit.
  - famousactress 13y ago
    Actually I think the better argument is for the tech-companies to support remote work, so that they stop importing wealthy home-needers. I think it's a really good part of a solution to this problem.
    - michaelochurch 13y ago
      When I was at Google, you pretty much needed to be in MTV to get a good shot at the most interesting projects. I'd argue that if you want to have a career there, you should go to the main office where your hallway serendipity is more likely to involve people who can actually bring you into a career-making AI project (instead of typical drudge work). Of course, it's different for everyone, and I was only there for 6 months, but if I were to do it over again, I'd work in MTV. I'd also advise everyone, regardless of traffic or weather, to show up in the physical office 5 days a week. To make remote work work, you need a culture where in-crowds and promotions and ladders don't matter (they'll always exist, but some companies give them more weight) and where people are pretty much assured that, even if they never get another title bump-- because those things happen less when you're not in-person-- they'll continue to get work that they're happy with.
      - famousactress 13y ago
        Yeah, I agree that remote working at a company that hasn't completely embraced it tends to be a bad idea. I'm suggesting more companies completely embrace it. For GOOG that'd be an interesting challenge. I don't know if the last sentence in your first paragraph was advice for Googlers or portable but I'd advise literally everyone to avoid traffic at every possible opportunity... though as I get older I'm much more 'ambitious' about happiness than title bumps, so YMMV.

bishnu 13y ago

Build more housing?

tehwalrus 13y ago
In the UK, and it sounds like San Fran too, there are lots of special-interest-inspired laws making building new housing difficult. In Singapore, unlike many other countries where people think they're out of space (including the UK), they may well be really running out of space - I believe there are similar problems in Hong Kong.
- gaius 13y ago
  You mean like the green belt? Once various plans to rebalance the economy away from London come to fruition (e.g. HS2) things will return to normal.
  - tehwalrus 13y ago
    LOL. Train lines connecting places to the capital just cause the capital to grow further[1]. New high speed lines between Manchester and Sheffield, and up from each to Glasgow and Edinburgh would help rebalance the economy as you suggest. But they're not planned for decades. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-stone-unturned-in-pursuit-of-growth https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-stone-unturned... and/or http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20142837 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20142837 - "The Heseltine Review" isn't a primary source of evidence for this assertion, but it's through this coverage that I learned of these ideas.
visakanv 13y ago
I think we're working on it, but the island is highly land-scarce, and if I understand correctly, prices are being driven up faster than new housing can adequately correct.
michaelt 13y ago
In many countries we place control of local planning/zoning issues in the hands of local residents - the very people who benefit most from the supply being restricted. I would love for there to be more houses in the place I want to live but can't. But I don't get a vote because I'm not a resident.
Pxtl 13y ago
That. The lack of intensification in some of the most valuable real-estate in the world is absurd. Build up! Also, while it stinks for people who are already tied into careers, having money flood into your community isn't exactly a bad thing for somebody entrepreneurial. I mean, if the new wealthy folks want to blow that cash locally, there's a lot of money to be made. It's demeaning in a "trickle-down" services sense, but it's cash to be had.
- umsm 13y ago
  Will this increased building activities cost less than the current housing market rate? If a new property costs $500k to build, as a builder you would need to at least cover that cost. I can't imagine that this helps the poor unless it's government sponsored.
  - saosebastiao 13y ago
    The housing market rate will be lower with new housing than without it.

zorked 13y ago

Remote work?

protomyth 13y ago
Low income people tend to be doing jobs that cannot be done "over the wire" such as service jobs.
- visakanv 13y ago
  Yep, the blue-collar folk are the worst hit.
- famousactress 13y ago
  Actually I think the better argument is for the tech-companies to support remote work, so that they stop importing wealthy home-needers. I think it's a really good part of a solution to this problem.
  - michaelochurch 13y ago
    When I was at Google, you pretty much needed to be in MTV to get a good shot at the most interesting projects. I'd argue that if you want to have a career there, you should go to the main office where your hallway serendipity is more likely to involve people who can actually bring you into a career-making AI project (instead of typical drudge work). Of course, it's different for everyone, and I was only there for 6 months, but if I were to do it over again, I'd work in MTV. I'd also advise everyone, regardless of traffic or weather, to show up in the physical office 5 days a week. To make remote work work, you need a culture where in-crowds and promotions and ladders don't matter (they'll always exist, but some companies give them more weight) and where people are pretty much assured that, even if they never get another title bump-- because those things happen less when you're not in-person-- they'll continue to get work that they're happy with.
    - famousactress 13y ago
      Yeah, I agree that remote working at a company that hasn't completely embraced it tends to be a bad idea. I'm suggesting more companies completely embrace it. For GOOG that'd be an interesting challenge. I don't know if the last sentence in your first paragraph was advice for Googlers or portable but I'd advise literally everyone to avoid traffic at every possible opportunity... though as I get older I'm much more 'ambitious' about happiness than title bumps, so YMMV.