Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[THE_WIZARD_]

No thanks. If I start saying aboot, the guys down at the Kiwanis club won't buy me beers.

Bullshit. They will buy you a Molson and some backbacon...just make sure you wear your toque...

[THE_WIZARD_]

Facts and myths about the GOP Tax Bill:

1. The Dims like to claim that the plan will massively raise taxes on families earning less than 30k.

FACT...families making 30k or less are not subject to income tax even with today's tables...and even more will be exempt because of the doubling of the standard deduction.

2. The Dims also like to throw out that the bill cuts taxes for the rich and raises it for middle-class earners. BULLSHIT. Dollar wise yes. Percentage wise...uh not even close. And since it is a PROG tax system...that's the way it works sugar! Fact is the wealthy already pay a disproportionate amount of the taxes. Huge. Most families now that earn $40k or less pay no income tax. None. Yet they still receive the same SS benefits as if they paid for the full FICA (which is half paid by their employer as it is). Fact is in essence we have a NEGATIVE TAX on the lower to middle class when you factor in all the tax credits.

I really hope the Dims pin their 2018 hopes on running on this bill as their platform. Go for it Chuckie and Nancy!

[THE_WIZARD_]

Those cities contain lots of corporate headquarters. DSL, you constantly lament that corporations are not people. I guess that holds only until you want to count their FIT to prove that they are makers and not takers.



I believe you. But that doesn't change the fact that, in most of the country, $ 400,000 gets you a very nice home. And I know, factually as pertains to Portland and Boulder, that there was a paradigm about 15 years ago called "smart growth". What that meant was using political power to ban development in the areas around the city that would normally, had the free market been allowed to work, have become suburbs. The rationale was to increase the value of in-city property to drive out "undesirables" (read minorities). Of course this fit nicely with the climate change myth too.

So now you have cities that have high prices by zoning out more moderate priced homes on their outskirts. And still, to take out a $ 750,000 conventional mortgage you would be buying about a million dollar home with 20% down. Why do people in the Midwest have to subsidize Seattle's high prices, or Portland's ridding themselves of the inner city poor.



Marco Rubio and Sen. Lee insisted on it. Raised the child tax credit to $ 2,000 from $ 1,000. The most a nonworking filer can get back is $ 1,400.00 which is 40% more than under previous law. Plus, the full $ 2,000 can be used to recoup FICA taxes. The progressive Brookings Institution says 80% of Americans will get a tax cut.

EFZ Geezer.

[froot loops]

There are NIMBYs everywhere, this tax bill will not change that at all and they are generally the rich folks. If you want to tackle housing prices in desirable areas, you need to attack single family zoning and try to resist the NIMBYs when they try to use that political power.

[iam416]

It's tough fighting the progressives NIMBYs though.

[froot loops]

Is there a difference between a progressive NIMBY and a conservative one? I generally see them as the same.

[iam416]

Progressive NIMBYs are located in the area of "high housing" price concerns -- I mean, if elections in NYC, Chicago, Seattle and, hell, the entire fucking state of California.

There may be conservative NIMBYs, to be sure, but no one here is bitching about the price of housing in Atlanta, Dallas, Columbus or other locales. Of course, as those cities aren't particularly progressive they also have far more sensible zoning regulations than, say, California.

[iam416]

I have to admit, if I thought that the tax bill was a tax cut for the wealthy and a tax hike for the middle class then I'd be against it to.

[froot loops]

What zoning regulations in California are speaking of?

[froot loops]

The Chicago metro area actually isn't bad for housing prices. You do have to deal with the suburbs though.

[AlabamAlum]

As a child, my son's favorite book was "The Secret of Nimby".

[iam416]

California requires housing developers to build "affordable" housing units when doing big builds. That will, of course, impact developers in a couple ways. First, they'll find ways to make their money by, you know, jacking up prices on the other houses. Second, if they can't find ways to make enough money they just won't build.

But, that in and of itself is somewhat workable. I mean, it leads to the barbel effect which is basically what California is, now. But housing wouldn't necessarily dwindle b/c there is still much money to made off the wealthy.

But, added to that, zoning regulations are brutal across the state: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-p...ousing-supply/. One reason is that localities are incentivized to go away from new housing (look at the point on Prop 13 in the link infra).

Experts estimate that California has had an annual shortfall of about 80,000 houses and that is the biggest reason for the current "housing crisis."

A good look at how fucked up the California housing market is: https://calmatters.org/articles/hous...gh-california/

But, yeah, we're suppose to let them off their federal obligations.

[hack]

Given all that prog stuff, surely the economy there will collapse any day now.

[Wild Hoss]

It's tough fighting the progressives NIMBYs though.

Ask Tyson how easy it is battling the conservative NIMBYs in Kansas.

[iam416]

Housing prices must be through the roof in Kansas.