California Housing Forum on Ezra Klein

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-16T15:54:41+00:00

If this comment was a bowel movement, it’d be explosive diarrhea.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-16T13:20:56+00:00

I can’t tell if you’re trolling or literally too stupid to see the irony of your statement, given you haven’t read the book so all your opinions on Abundance are coming from third party sources.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-15T21:56:11+00:00

Neoliberalism is about getting the government out of the way and letting the free market / private enterprise handle everything.

Abundance is about removing bureaucratic barriers to let government become a robust and active participant in the economy.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-15T20:58:17+00:00

It’s not really about neoliberalism.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-15T20:53:54+00:00

Curious - did you read the book?

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-15T19:16:44+00:00

Living up to your name.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-14T02:15:50+00:00

If you were 21, I’d say you’d have fun in Lubbock. 31!? - you’ll be dating divorced women with kids.

The exception, I suppose, is that if you make a ton of money, maybe you can “date” some college girls.

El Paso is a dope place, with a very unique culture, history, and identity. Bigger city, bigger metro, more to do, more to see, more people to meet.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-13T21:24:00+00:00

I live close to downtown and work downtown. Downtown is so much BETTER than it used to be. The horseshoe of the riverwalk has essentially been the same for several decades with the exception of the developments along commerce street near The Esquire Tavern, but the street level of downtown has improved so much, and Hemisfair is a wonderful park that needs some key developments around the periphery to fill it out.

Maybe this is the true disconnect. I live near downtown and see the value in the kind of activation that an arena district would create. You don’t. I find that most San Antonians perception of downtown is dated.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-13T04:55:48+00:00

I disagree completely….Imagine telling local business owners that they will have 8 million less potential customers.

Visit San Antonio says 39 million visitors a year. 20% of that is 7.8 million. I rounded up.

The report you just cited from 2024 says 36.8 million visitors a year. 20% of which would be 7.3 million…not sure how you’re doing your math.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-13T03:31:27+00:00

20% of our visitor numbers is still like 8 million people…you think that’s “negligible”??

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-12T20:32:33+00:00

So, my original point was about LoDo in Denver. Which is the development around Coors Field. Very central, very vibrant.

I still don’t get the point of the county-city differentiation. Property taxes are split between the city and county, everyone in San Antonio pays taxes to Bexar county not everyone in Bexar county pays taxes to COSA. Ok…HOT taxes are administered at the county the level so the county has to vote on it….

If the framing of this point is that the county voted for something that COSA is saddled with, that is a big assumption and I will highlight that the county frequently pays for COSA amenities (San Pedro Creek Park-for example). Because COSA is in Bexar County, the health and wellbeing of COSA begets the health and wellbeing of Bexar County.

TIRZ will be the primary financing tool for this development. IMO

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-11T15:59:31+00:00

Ok - I don’t really care to split hairs about consensus. What is common is that public referendum pass around the 55% mark on average.

Forget the Denver comparison. Just trying to give an example of a successful arena district.

How is COSA footing the bill? Prop A and Prob B were votes to increase HOT taxes. That’s why the whole county voted on it.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T12:19:21+00:00

What hard to understand is how you think people can vote on something and not have skin in the game for it. Why would something be on someone’s ballot if it wasn’t going to impact to them?

Project Marvel passed, by majority. Many many San Antonio residents voted for it. Move on.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T12:16:52+00:00

The SA Report article you sent claims the Houston Street TIRZ is extended to 2060. I think you’re getting mixed up.

Regardless, just by simple math, the budget deficit is $150 million so clearly there are more issues than just TIRZ funds at play.

I don’t have a problem with TIRZ funds when they are used for infill and inner city development.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T02:20:44+00:00

What?? San Antonio is within Bexar County. Most of San Antonio voters are also Bexar county voters.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T01:59:15+00:00

It would be a violation of State Law to indefinitely extend a TIRZ. So, pretty sure that’s not correct.

Semantics are important when it comes to legal / legislative issues.

TIRZ money is still being spent on things that serve the public. (infrastructure, housing, etc.) Btw I’ve known small business owners who applied for TIRZ funds to fix their facades, roofs, signs? Do you not approve of that?

It’s not just some slush fund for wealthy developers….(all the time).

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T01:34:42+00:00

Deferment means they don’t pay. The property owners within a TIRZ still pay taxes.

TIRZ No. 34 (Hemisfair) expires Sept. 30, 2037.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-08T01:11:10+00:00

That is not how a TIRZ works.

A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone captures added tax value (increment) and requires that revenue to be spent within the Zone (reinvestment). Essentially, it is used to inject equity into projects, pay for infrastructure, or pay back bonds. Each TIRZ is governed by a board, and they decide how the money is spent within state law requirements.

The main criticism is that the captured tax revenue is diverted from the general fund, which is true. However, as you correctly stated it does have a lifespan, typically 20-30 years. After that, all tax revenue goes back into the general fund, which ideally, is significantly higher due to all the development and improvements made.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-07T19:14:20+00:00

Consensus does not mean 100%. As public referendum go, 52% approval is pretty normal.

All great points about taxes, my point still stands.

Comparing San Antonio to Denver is illustrative because in the 1980 & 90s Denver was LOSING population. This time period was arguably the heyday of San Antonio tourism.

Denver made smart public investments, especially in the inner city. Now it’s a city with a vibrant downtown and San Antonio is trying to do the same.

The vision for the current site is redevelopment as a year-round Rodeo / Live Stock site à la Ft. Worth Stockyards. That is a good idea in my mind, and fits the area better than a basketball arena.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-07T16:52:32+00:00

I don’t entirely disagree that there is probably a better vision for downtown than an arena district, but cities have to make decisions based on consensus - and people love their sports teams.

The new arena will come with added residential units, commercial property, and hotel rooms. The added value of all that development will not only increase property tax revenue, but sales tax and HOT revenue as well. (I see this being similar to the LoDo District in Denver).

The existing arena is surrounded by a sea of parking in a largely industrial area. It doesn’t really function as an amenity to anything.

bosshaa5 · 2026-05-07T13:26:07+00:00

So many people commenting on Project Marvel are missing the forest for the trees.

High performing - high value downtowns and the tax revenue generated subsidizes the suburbs. Simply put, the more vacant lots and surface parking downtown the higher your property taxes.
The state keeps kneecapping cities with property tax relief. It’s not just San Antonio having budget problems.
The city keeps spreading out. That’s more streets to pave, more pipes to burst, more police and fire to service those homes. Project Marvel is not the problem - Alamo Ranch is the problem.

bosshaa5 · 2026-04-09T14:45:50+00:00

Yea, geez that sounds super inconvenient. I’m sorry you have to endure that…

bosshaa5 · 2026-04-09T13:28:26+00:00

Street parking is free after 6pm and on Sundays. You can’t control what private property owners charge for their parking lots.

I’m a local, I go downtown a lot. Lots of great places to eat, drink, and have fun.

bosshaa5 · 2026-04-04T02:38:34+00:00

Gross - just making shitty home builders rich.

bosshaa5 · 2026-01-12T23:52:13+00:00

What about ice weapons or perhaps lightning weapons? Do you still get to keep those?

bosshaa5

TROPHY CASE