Came here to comment exactly this.

My son lives in a large city in an apartment bldg w/o any parking lot. All you get from that is a constant nightmare of street parking issues. Sometimes he has to park a 10-15 min walk from his place. It’s ridiculous.

Glomar Explorer has entered the chat...

Yep. But unfortunately way too many Americans don’t have any empathy for labor. They’re either part of the small percentage who are actually in the...well, top 1 or 2% (thus “small”), are delusional that they are, or desperately want to be.

LOL, I know, right ? Look at some of the comment thread above. Even the guy who claims to be a Bernie supporter looks to be supporting immigration so he can benefit from cheap labor. “Because they’ll be grateful for the chance!!11!” or something.

We all find our place, yes ? I live in Texas (was born here) and sorta feel the same way about it that you do about Florida.

Define “exploiting workers”. On the low end, would paying $12-15/hr to a Venezuelan worker who’s fleeing violence and can now keep their family safe be “exploitive”?

I’m not a renter, I own my own home (well, me and the bank).

...it’d be an improvement over most 3rd world conditions, and they’d be thrilled to have the opportunity for themselves...

Florida isn’t my cup o’ tea, but there you have it. Glad it worked out for you.

Counterpoint: Trying to see both sides is sometimes a good and right thing to do. I didn’t vote for John McCain or Mitt Romney for president, but I recognize most of their supporters as fellow Americans who are participating in our democracy.

...thereby driving up wages to an unhealthy livable level.

Except for certain, very rare, parts of the country that have some sort of rent control or tenants’ rights laws with teeth, you’re out of luck. Landlords hold all the cards here, except if there’s a glut of rental housing in the area (and really, where’s that ??).

Then you could...move. To a more reasonably-priced part of the country. (I know, I know. It sucks. But do you have to live on one of the coasts, or do you just want to ?)

Mercedes is killing that in the States, too. 2023 is the last model year as well. 

Yet another reason I follow all of Claire’s posts. This is inspired! Yum...

...rather than engaging in what amounts to xenophobic showboating that does exactly nothing to protect anyone.

Same here. Dad was a WWII vet and he’d have been disgusted by plenty of the “unrestricted gun rights” stuff going on now. I was taught at an early age how to safely store, transport, and (in an appropriate setting) use a firearm. It was serious business to him.

I was about to respond to panthercougar, but you are entirely correct. Your company is doing it right WRT them. Inconvenient for you, I know. Tho’ I will add that if your company allows you to use email that way, their Data Loss Prevention (DLP) processes aren’t up to snuff.

Hmmm...A new tax (a “big gov’t” move). Named to take a dig at “libruhl Yankees”. Will affect more Southerners than actual Yankees. Proposed by a (checks notes) Republican.