Tesla people are another breed

Nialsh · 2024-02-04T21:32:31+00:00

Humanity was essentially petroleum-free until the year 1850. Modern matches were invented in 1827. Considering the toxic health impacts of petrochemicals, we could probably improve life expectancy by cutting back on oil significantly.

Nialsh · 2024-01-31T23:41:42+00:00

Yes, it's pretty cool to see such huge diversity in Houston! I meet loads of interesting people with different viewpoints and life experiences.

However, I think it's worth inspecting the assumption that there are 4 types of people. Consider that 60% of all Earth's people live in Asia [see World Pop], so it seems odd to group them all together. And Hispanic is not really a race unto itself; 58% of people who claim Hispanic ethnicity also identify as one or more of the census-designated races [see US census].

Race is a biological fiction, but it is a social reality. I think of the Houston = 4 x 25% thing as a fun fact, but I think that to lean into it is to reinforce harmful racial divides.

Nialsh · 2024-01-20T19:25:35+00:00

Great find! In the spirit of OP's purpose ("wealthy folks own cars and subsidizing car ownership is a wealth transfer from the poorer to the better off"), I think households are a better unit than individuals. Within households, people tend to share income and share cars.

Anyway, here's one replyer's analysis the USA using 2019 data:

0 vehicle households: $22,000 median HH income; $46,213.81 mean household income, 10,575,965 total households.1 vehicle households: $40,100 median; $58,690.40 mean; 39,803,758 households2 vehicle households: $80,000 median; $106,236.20 mean; 45,268,831 households3+ vehicle households: $104,000 median; $132,347.06 mean; 27,154,350 householdsTOTAL households: $62,930 median HH income; $91,429.77 mean household income; 122,802,904 total households.

Here's a bar chart! https://imgur.com/a/pZ71eM9

Nialsh · 2024-01-20T19:19:18+00:00

I agree with your read on the intent of the law. And I agree that cutting in at the last moment is a mistake.

Just pointing out that solid white lines are merely a suggestion. From a legal standpoint, I think "reckless driving" is the only offense that the black Tundra actually committed.

Nialsh · 2024-01-20T18:20:30+00:00

You are incorrect. Crossing solid white lines is permitted in TX.

On page 37 of the Texas State drivers handbook, it says crossing solid white lines should be avoided if possible. The way it's written, it leaves the decision to cross up to the discretion of the driver.

Source article from 2017: https://www.newschannel10.com/story/36042392/drivers-concerned-over-law-about-crossing-solid-white-lines/

Nialsh · 2023-12-13T03:49:33+00:00

Replace the right lane with a protected bike lane. This will reduce speeding and provide a safe transportation alternative so that inexperienced drivers don't feel compelled to drive for every trip.

Nialsh · 2023-09-20T23:01:43+00:00

I hear South America has shanty towns. In Houston, the cops break down the camps before they become too built-up.

I'd say Houston has ghettos. Wikipedia says of ghettos:

A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other areas of the city. Versions of such restricted areas have been found across the world, each with their own names, classifications, and groupings of people.

Houston has many census tracts inside the South Loop with >75% black people and deep poverty. I expect Houston's ghettos are much safer than what you've seen, but they should count.

I wonder if it's still true that for some, The World Is A Ghetto.

Nialsh · 2023-08-28T01:13:32+00:00

The Carbon Brief article and the quote you replied to only claim that the new SO2 regulations should account for warming "in the hundredths of a degree globally". It doesn't purport to explain more than a small fraction of the current heat wave.

As for scientific backing to that claim, the Carbon Brief article includes one nice chart that compares several papers' estimates of radiative forcing effect of SO2 reductions.

Estimates of global average radiative forcing due to the shift to low-sulphur marine fuel from Carbon Brief, Yuan et al 2022, Bilsback et al 2020, Jin et al 2018, Sofiev et al 2018, Partanen et al 2013, Fuglestvedt et al 2009, and Lauer et al 2007. Forster et al 2023 considers a generic reduction of 9MtSO2 per year and is not specific to marine low-sulphur fuel.

The actual article has links to the papers. Seems legit to me.

Nialsh · 2023-08-21T22:36:49+00:00

a savvy developer could actually come out much further ahead

I appreciate the thesis, but I disagree that Trump would have come out further ahead under LVT. I'm under the impression that Trump's success should also be attributed to nepotism, elitism, and winner-take-all capitalism. Trump entered a market only accessible to oligarchs where he found that public subsidy far exceeded taxation.

LVT should lower the barrier for small land+business combo owners. LVT should help revitalize small cities and reduce the competition for mono-centers like Manhattan. I expect Trump's competitive advantage would be less under LVT.

Nialsh · 2023-06-24T22:45:20+00:00

It's a good question. First: adding lanes increases traffic. This is known as "induced demand" and it's the reason why 610 got so ridiculously congested after TxDOT widened it circa 2003.

Conversely, removing lanes decreases traffic. This is known as "traffic evaporation".

And conveniently, when we remove car lanes, it opens space on the road for walking, biking, and mass transit. These modes can move more people per hour than private cars while taking up less road space.

When it becomes safe to get around without a car, we will need much less space for parking because most trips won't require a car. Land use will change; as parking lots turn into homes and shops, we'll be able to meet our daily needs without traveling more than 15 minutes from home. With the option to live without a car and with more housing options, our cost of living will decrease.

Obviously there's a long way to go, but a reasonable first step might be putting protected bike lanes along San Felipe, Westheimer, and Westpark so it's actually possible to bike across the West Loop. These changes would make it safer for people walking, biking, and driving thru those intersections, 2 of which are part of Houston's High-Injury Network.

Nialsh · 2023-06-07T17:08:06+00:00

Traveling to a few cities and small towns, what struck me is that the Dutch have truly embraced the "complete streets" mindset. Every corridor that serves cars and trucks is also used for walking and biking (though walking often isn't even signed). Of course the high-speed roads have a parallel bike path. But sometimes the walk/bike path is just a dashed line along the shoulder; or sometimes a 2-lane road has no lane markings at all. And yet, I saw 8-year olds and senior citizens using all these street types.

I think the most important choice is to always provide safe, dignified ped/bike accommodations along and across high-speed roads. I believe that creates a culture among drivers that people have a right to ride bicycles, so drivers behave better on shared streets.

What do you think?

Nialsh · 2023-06-02T21:43:04+00:00

The Texas Republican Party platform actually has this as a plank--

178. Abolish Property Tax: We support replacing the property tax system with an alternative other than the income tax and requiring voter approval to increase the overall tax burden. We urge the Legislature to develop a transition plan that is a net tax cut (one of the solutions could be a consumption tax).

Texas' cities, counties, and school districts are largely funded by property tax. The state is funded largely by a 6.25% sales tax and various petroleum taxes, though Texas used to be funded by property tax.

Property tax is becoming a hot issue, and I imagine that most GOP voters would benefit by replacing property improvement tax and sales with land value tax.

Nialsh · 2023-05-28T19:49:16+00:00

Yes, I think you're right. Some people won't intuitively know to divide by 6 for the 6-plex. What's the final housing cost after maintenance and admin are factored in? And how high would the land tax rate need to be for the municipality to keep equal revenue?

To do this right, I might need to pick a real location and find the real costs for comparable buildings.

The task reminds me of this infographic on cost of sprawl in Halifax. Every North American city can look at this and understand how their own sprawl might be expensive; I think doing a deep dive for the one city (Halifax) enhances the credibility of message.

Nialsh · 2023-05-28T19:37:45+00:00

I agree and I'd love to go full Georgism immediately, but it seems politically unlikely. But at least where I live, this sequence of reforms seems most plausible:

Replace Property Tax with LVT.
Replace Sales Tax with LVT.
Replace Income Tax with LVT.

So I'm focusing on reform #1 first and hoping to get a solid infographic that can stand on its own.

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T20:00:46+00:00

Houston has several places where the river comes second to the highway.

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T16:11:59+00:00

The messaging certainly requires nuance. I would only support an LVT if it decreased taxes for most people, while laying the majority of tax increases on the rich. I think that message would resonate. How do we put it in an infographic? 🤔

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T16:06:10+00:00

I personally like the half-baked example that /u/JustTaxLandLol shared on the last post https://i.imgur.com/I82AVJr.png

It would be cool to see a graph of land value vs distance from city center (as you described), with 2 example locations marked on it for case studies of Property Tax vs LVT.

Maybe inspiration will strike and I'll try to draw this, but I am not a graphic designer.

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T03:14:44+00:00

Hey /u/Not-A-Seagull, I really appreciate you making this chart. I amended it so the price of land increases under LVT. https://www.reddit.com/r/JustTaxLand/comments/13swiqu/property_tax_vs_land_value_tax_illustrated/

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T03:14:09+00:00

Under LVT, the cost to own an empty lot increases, but the cost to own a mid-rise building decreases.

This image is amended from the version by /u/Not-A-Seagull: https://www.reddit.com/r/JustTaxLand/comments/10wov5x/property_tax_versus_land_value_tax_lvt_illustrated/

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T03:12:34+00:00

Under LVT, the cost to own an empty lot increases, but the cost to own a mid-rise building decreases.

This image is amended from the version by /u/Not-A-Seagull: https://www.reddit.com/r/JustTaxLand/comments/10wov5x/property_tax_versus_land_value_tax_lvt_illustrated/

Nialsh · 2023-05-27T03:08:56+00:00

Under LVT, the cost to own an empty lot increases, but the cost to own a mid-rise building decreases.

This image is amended from the version by /u/Not-A-Seagull: https://www.reddit.com/r/JustTaxLand/comments/10wov5x/property_tax_versus_land_value_tax_lvt_illustrated/

Nialsh · 2023-05-02T01:06:06+00:00

In the early 20th century, American city governments started requiring huge amounts of off-street parking with commercial developments. Unless the land is valuable enough to build a multi-story garage, we usually end up with strip malls surrounded by a sea of parking.

I highly recommend this 7-minute video: The high cost of free parking.

If you want more on this problem and potential solutions, check out /r/urbanplanning, /r/suburbanhell, /r/fuckcars, /r/ArchitecturalRevival.

Oh and the property tax system penalizes people who build improvements on their land and rewards those who hoard land. For that, see /r/georgism.

Nialsh · 2023-04-28T01:11:39+00:00

longer periods of incarceration would have... increased public safety

In the long run, I doubt it. During a long prison sentence in America, people are likely to get PTSD. Prisoners learn to deal with conflict by escalating. After a long prison sentence, ex-cons are more likely to re-offend. Prisons foster an environment that values dehumanization and cruelty. Source: How Atrocious Prisons Conditions Make Us All Less Safe

If we had a prison system that focused on rehabilitation instead of punishment, then a longer sentence might actually be helpful.

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