Families can't rely solely on public transit for everything, especially if they can't afford to live close to civic centers. Affordable housing could be within the reach of more families if you Taxed The Rich.
Replies
How does taxing rich people more = Affordable Housing? I'm 100% on board w/ taxing the rich w/ a wealth tax, but I fail to see how that can leads to more affordable housing
may 9, 2025, 7:16 pm • 1 0 • view
Increasing taxes on the rich means we could allocate more of the budget to building and subsidizing housing for working class families. How is this difficult to imagine? Housing skyrocketed here because of companies like Amazon, they should help build housing so less folks get priced out of the city
may 9, 2025, 9:05 pm • 0 0 • view
Faircloth Amendment prevents the gov from building affordable housing. Different states & cities within them have different metrics & methods for how they subsidize housing. The funds help but unless you address the laundry list of reasons why costs are up like parking mandates, it won't be enough
may 9, 2025, 9:19 pm • 1 0 • view
Families do that exact thing every day all around the world, especially poor ones. Why do you want so badly to subsidize the middle class who can afford cars at the expense of the poor, who cannot?
may 9, 2025, 9:29 pm • 0 0 • view
I am not talking about the middle class though? And why wouldn't we want to improve the lives of the poor, just because they have struggled and made do means they prefer it that way? What an odd line of thought. The idea that poor families don't own cars is a pretty large generalization
may 9, 2025, 9:38 pm • 0 0 • view
All over the US, but especially in the wealthy coastal cities, people with no car are living on the streets because housing costs so much. Every parking space in these cities is a theft from someone living on the street who is left without a home because someone with more money wanted parking.
may 9, 2025, 9:44 pm • 1 0 • view
If you can afford a car, you are necessarily wealthier and have more opportunities than someone who can't. Define class boundaries as you see fit, but that's still true. I refuse to give credence to the notion that we can't prioritize those in deep poverty because ppl with more $ want to park easily
may 9, 2025, 9:49 pm • 1 0 • view
I live in a coastal city where the working class and poor have been priced out of their homes by the wealthy transplants that moved here for lucrative tech jobs. You think making buildings include enough parking for their residents takes away from the homeless.
may 9, 2025, 10:37 pm • 0 0 • view
There are many folks who live in their cars because they can't afford anything else despite being employed. Those folks need the street parking. Street parking that apartment residents take up when their buildings don't provide adequate parking for their tenants.
may 9, 2025, 10:37 pm • 0 0 • view
You can't assume that folks who live in a city will just give up their cars, especially when mass transit is underfunded, unreliable,and doesn't serve all areas equitably
may 9, 2025, 10:37 pm • 0 0 • view
"Things can't get better. We have to keep spending public money on places to put a car instead of better public utilities."
may 9, 2025, 10:42 pm • 0 0 • view
They could more easily afford the apartment if they weren't priced into car ownership by development patterns that prioritize parking over people. Your language approximates systemic thinking but betrays a lack of curiosity about how life works in other, poorer countries that aren't so car-centric.
may 9, 2025, 10:47 pm • 1 0 • view
That's a pretty big 'if' LOL and I am speaking specifically about a metropolitan area here, in this country, that was never planned to become a major city. It's nice to play 'what if', but you can't ignore what already exists. In fact, the voters here turned down federal funding for a mass
may 9, 2025, 11:05 pm • 0 0 • view
transit system decades ago because they didn't think it was necessary (incredibly short-sighted, but I was a baby at the time). Atlanta, GA ended up with that funding and now this city is struggling to play catch up after the last population boom that displaced thousands of lower income folks.
may 9, 2025, 11:05 pm • 0 0 • view
Look at photos of Amsterdam in the 70s and now. Look at Paris 20 years ago vs now. Change is not only possible, it's necessary. In your mind you're fighting the greedy developers, but in reality your favored policy of mandating parking ensures that bad things continue to happen for decades to come.
may 9, 2025, 11:23 pm • 0 0 • view
I think that because it's objectively true. Cars take up a lot of space and cost $20k-$80k to house. Infrastructure for cars means less space for humans. Every urban parking space represents lost apartments for a person who could walk places, bicycle, or take transit.
may 9, 2025, 10:45 pm • 0 0 • view