I get that, but the prices increases aren’t their fault. Even hipsters have to live somewhere.

But that’s the thing, there isn’t nearly enough. Lots of people in that upper middle class zone are priced out, so they have to shift downmarket. There’s a clear way to tell: are prices going up? That’s how you know there’s a shortage. The same units are going for higher prices because they’re being bid up. Some…

I don’t disagree about the harms of gentrification pricing people out. People are priced out because housing supply isn’t keeping up with demand. The only way to prevent displacement is to build more. Otherwise you just get more rich people outbidding the non-rich for the limited stock of housing that exists.

Mine are always pretty basic because I’m a regular employee without any funky accounting, so I use the free IRS fillable forms. Most important part is putting on a good album, preferably something new, cracking a beer, and hopefully finishing all 3 at around the same time.

Maybe we can’t keep up with demand, but let’s at least try before throwing in the towel.

You’re right, but the slow speed of construction is a political choice. We could easily get much more construction just by allowing it to happen. That requires planning, but were really good at that and new construction can fund infrastructure improvements.

There aren’t that many billionaires, and if they weren’t buying new penthouse condos they’d be buying and renovating townhouses instead. Building more allows us to absorb that demand without it spilling over to affect the rest of us.

Unless you’re talking about suburban tract homes, new construction has rarely been on the cheap end. Think of it like cars: even a new Camry is expensive as hell, but people can still drive because of the used market. I’ve lived most of my life in old buildings for that very reason. Buildings tend to age into…

I mean, Seattle’s problem is is pretty evident from the zoning map. Given that the new transit plan looks so good, it would make all kinds of sense to upzone around stations. I find it ridiculous how short the new buildings are on Capitol Hill.

Except that’s not true. Opening a new luxury building on my block doesn’t make my rent go up. You’re just pointing out another reason to allow more density and taller buildings: it reduces the need to demolish. And fortunately, the linear progression of time means that even as some old buildings disappear, other…

But aren’t the hipsters doing what you want: preserving old buildings?

Yes?

Clearly all development and change should have stopped the day after I arrived. That was when [city] achieved perfection.

New housing is almost never aimed at the bottom of the market. That’s why I live in old-ass buildings. Think of it like cars, even the cheapest cars are almost $20k new, which not everyone can afford, so we buy used. Building mid market and fancy housing takes the pressure off of everyone and lowers rents generally,…

And more housing works to bring down costs. NYC has had stable rents over the past year-ish thanks to a construction boom and Seattle even saw its crazy pace of rent increases turn into a tiny decrease when a bunch of new buildings opened up:

I’ve heard that the deal is for a DACA vote “before” Feb 8 rather than after, with the threat of another shutdown starting Feb 9 if there’s no action. Can you clarify?

The best part is that even if they’re right, they’re bragging that a tiny percentage of the money given to corporations and wealthy individuals will trickle down to workers. If you want to borrow $1.5 trillion for a tax cut and want it to benefit workers, how about you just give them the money? That works out to a one…

Generation isn’t really a concern (easy to scale that up and EV present a nice way to efficiently space demand), but as the rollout grows there will probably need to be some local distribution upgrades.

Whole Foods is already starting to do that and has a plan to ramp up more. Charging’s complete in the time it takes to finish your shopping.

Having been in a similar position (realized my passport has just expired the literal night before my flight), I have to sing the praises of the Manhattan office. Got in line about 7:00am after hitting up an all night Kinkos in midtown around 5 to handle the picture and everything. They had me through the line and…