akgerber

61 ms·

541.
by akgerber 12y ago
The 30-year mortgage is mostly a product of government. And in supply-constrained markets (most of the American coasts), low mortgage rates have mostly resulted in sharply higher-priced houses/land, which isn't good for anyone wan
542.
by akgerber 12y ago
Walmart clothes (the clothes of today's poor) aren't particularly nice compared to hand-tailored suits (the clothes of the upper crust hundreds of years ago, and presently).
543.
by akgerber 12y ago
The eight-hour day didn't come from the generosity of the rich, but because workers fought like hell for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day
544.
by akgerber 12y ago
In 1950, most cities also still had functional streetcar/bus systems that would take people downtown, and schools within walking distance. People didn't have fancy sneakers but shoes were usually made with a Goodyear welt to be re
545.
by akgerber 12y ago
Sounds like your problem isn't with walkable neighborhoods either, more the last 60 years or so of urban policy. America has barely built any walkable neighborhoods since WWII, and in the post-WWII era we left most of the existing ones
546.
by akgerber 12y ago
This article's final point should probably be on top: "Many people take this idea as a condemnation of cycling or exercise. It isn’t. Cycling is my favourite exercise. It is a condemnation of how much fossil fuel is used in agricu
547.
by akgerber 12y ago
UCSC tuition & fees have more than doubled since 2004: http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/california/university-of... (And they had already increased by 41% in 2004.)
548.
by akgerber 12y ago
More like "dollar vans with an app". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_van
549.
by akgerber 12y ago
I wish there were an option for subway + bikeshare— sometimes the fastest way to get somewhere is to take a train then grab a bike for the last mile.
550.
by akgerber 12y ago
I am confused by the suggestion that I "Babyrock to station", with this GIF: https://citymapper.com/static/img/journey_planner/jokes/baby...
551.
by akgerber 12y ago
Note that if you're working remotely anyway, there are many cities in the US where walkable neighborhoods with lovely cafes are nowhere near as overpriced as in NYC/coastal CA/etc. Pittsburgh and Milwaukee are two where I&#x2
552.
by akgerber 12y ago
Even at zero population growth, old buildings wear out and need to be replaced. Especially when we build them like most postwar US construction. Likewise, especially in harsher climates, replacing worn-out older buildings with passivhaus-gr
553.
by akgerber 12y ago
Etsy makes extensive use of it and employs the originator of the language, Rasmus.
554.
by akgerber 13y ago
Quebec has low tuition, at least in part, because students are ready to fight tuition increases: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Quebec_student_protests
555.
by akgerber 13y ago
Note 'impacted' is California jargon for 'super full'.
556.
by akgerber 13y ago
The original Luddites were skilled artisans being priced out of the job market forever based on their skills and what robots and child labor could do, too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite
557.
by akgerber 13y ago
I can't find a link at the moment, but I've seen articles where parents in bad neighborhoods talk about buying their sons video game consoles specifically to keep them sitting at home, rather than out on the dangerous streets.
558.
by akgerber 13y ago
This is a confusing headline, to me— I'd phrase it 'Supreme Court to decide on Aereo, a startup that could reshape the TV industry'
559.
by akgerber 13y ago
I'm a 'millennial' and my parents were Baby Boomers, and did a good job with me.
560.
by akgerber 13y ago
San Francisco's density is 17,867/sq mi (6,898/km2). Brooklyn's density is 14,182/km2 (36,732/sq mi). Brooklyn is a lot more dense— there are numerous subway lines all the way to the Atlantic, and essentially a
561.
by akgerber 13y ago
I did when Recaptcha came out and it was consistently obvious which was the unknown part. It's no longer so obvious, in my experience. I believe ReCaptcha presents the same unknown value to several users, and rejects outliers.
562.
by akgerber 13y ago
Y'all got this to balance out NIMBYs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Municipal_Board Do you know what kinds of stories you never hear in California: "the OMB, against the City's wishes, approved de
563.
by akgerber 13y ago
Referring to Manhattan as 'the city' is very common: http://gothamist.com/2012/05/21/do_you_refer_to_manhattan_as... Whether it's capitalized is just a matter of taste, as seen in the comments.
564.
by akgerber 13y ago
San Francisco is the 20th densest incorporated place in the US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by... Cudahy, California is a city that's significantly denser than it. It's the 2nd-d
565.
by akgerber 13y ago
Property taxes don't move in line with the market value of housing in California, unfortunately.
566.
by akgerber 13y ago
New construction is unlikely to push down rents anywhere in the current market environment in SF. But it does limit upward pressure on rents elsewhere. The bigger supply also is likely to lead to big price cuts during the next crash. And ne
567.
by akgerber 13y ago
"We are all drastically more wealthy than our parents and grandparents. We have it far better. But for socialists, this is not enough. They despise "inequality" and wealth." Only if by 'we' to mean the top 20%
568.
by akgerber 13y ago
Spending your enormous profits on tax-deductible R&D in the name of empire-building sounds a lot more appealing when most of your obscene executive salary or dividend payout would go to the IRS. That was pretty good incentive to pipelin
569.
by akgerber 13y ago
As an American citizen, at least half of my employers have had at least one immigrant founder— immigration seems like a big contributor to the US' excellence in high tech. But H-1B visas aren't great for me, since they give so muc
570.
by akgerber 13y ago
Give the technology a few years, and you'll probably find $200 beater e-skateboards.

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