
A few thoughts about housing and affordability in the bay area - jelliclesfarm
elsewhere here on HN is a thread about bay area housing crisis, there is a general hysteria about low housing stock. i am alarmed by the calls to repeal prop 13 as though that is the solution that will fix the problem. i am appalled by the vulture like predatory words spoken against senior citizens who helped build our bay area towns long before we became what we are today. i dont understand how increasing tax burden will increase affordable housing stock. that makes no logical sense. in fact, the opposite is true. some thoughts:<p>1. the solution is not repealing prop 13 in the hopes that senior citizens would move out. High taxes will make cities affordable or housing abundant.<p>2. The issue is not about housing or high density, but about distribution of resources.<p>3. the future will likely have less jobs and greater inequality..mostly because jobs will become increasingly automated.<p>4. historically, jobs and employment are essential to a vibrant economy because money has to be circulating for boosting purchasing power of the masses and hence the economy.<p>5. however, the population is increasing and high density isnt helping. there are scant instances of high density cities being affordable and&#x2F;or sustainable. rather crowded cities like mumbai, hong kong only end up getting worse.<p>(contd below in comments)
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jelliclesfarm
contd:

6\. the world's densest cities have the best public transport to move people
around. we dont have it here in the bay area. it is appalling. it is a
betrayal of our elected govt when they dont deliver basic necessities and
infrastructure. high density construction should be built around
infrastructure. but often, the state of CA builds homes, collects taxes and
does not built infrastructure. this has resulted in fewer public
services(police stations, animal shelters, fire stations)spread thin,
overcrowded public schools, traffic clogged roads, lack of communal spaces and
shrinking community services. there has also been an increase in crime, petty
theft, misdemeanours and homelessness.

7\. and then there is climate change. there is a global need to acknowledge
that we are well past peak consumption. jobs cant be the engine that drives
humanity.

8\. capitalism has always been associated with material goods and
services..and their exchange for monetary financial currency. this doesnt have
to be so. capitalism can be modified to include a lighter foot print.

9\. a future bay area needs to have lesser working hours and work days.
adopting 3-4 work week is a good start.

10\. creating townships in and around bay area and a robust public transport
system will become crucially necessary for the region.

11\. diversity is important. it is important in the job market too. stop
churning out STEM as the only way to sustain oneself with a job. arent there
enginneers and STEM educated workers who are also artists? It would take a
deliberate grabbing by the horns to create value in other non STEM fields.
like service or food or arts. This would take the pressure off the need to
employ everyone in STEM related fields for a better than barely liveable wage.

12\. there is a need for creative housing. example: Singapore has public
housing for various income levels. 78 percent of the population live in these
accomodations and the type of housing/its location depends on their income
levels and the number of children. these units are on 99 year leaseholds that
takes away the speculative aspect of real estate while still making sure that
there is a stability for the working population.

99 year leaseholds is a better solution that gives the working class mobility
and flexibility to move whereever their jobs would take them. it promises
stability in the housing market.

13\. other creative solutions include co housing and co-ops. living with a
smaller carbon foot print is sustainable and high density isnt.

in a one acre compound, co housing solution can create upto 32 to 16 homes of
varying square footage. every 10 compounds should have an community module
which includes schools, banks, a clinic, public services. this takes us back
to the 'village' style of living where services and infrastrucure are all
clustered thereby reducing the footprint of communities.

14\. housing affordability doesnt come from selling high density concept, but
with more rental units. freeing up pay checks for other kinds of investments
that isnt real estate. it is a beast that eats itself when escalating property
values create more scarcity and more inequalities leading to more
unaffordablity and bigger mortgages..causing overcrowding. everyone rejoices
when speculative real estate sector heats up...not realising that it is
contributing to the never ending hunger of a beast that eats itself.

for houses to be affordable, the speculative aspect should be tempered. the
appreciation should be steady and even paced. when the real estate value are
agitated, it is not dissimilar to wall street trading floors. it is absolutely
chaotic and it is simply making life unbearable for everyone in the bay area.

15\. traffic: need for public transport and 3 or 4 day work week. i should
probably be repeating this.

16\. cities ought to have local management and not under regional control. bay
area has a lot of student population and immigrants. many of them dont vote or
are a population that is very mobile. for this, we need a new kind of voting
system for people to be able vote on things that is relevant to them.

for example, residents have a vote, but property owners who are residents
should have a decision vote that is weighted more. investors and commercial
property owners have a different kind of vote. this means that every local
decision should be based on referendums and not elections every four years.

17\. elected officials ..esp at city level should be handsomely compensated
and bonuses awarded if they met stated goals. they work for the people and not
for the govt.

lately i realised that my city's council members are elected not to represent
us to sacramento/california govt, but are elected by us to represent
ca/sacramento and be bearers of tax bills.

local elected members shouldnt be allowed to proceed to higher offices unless
the city they served gives them a vote of confidence.

18\. every resident gets a unique ID that identifies their position. do they
have kids in school..are they retired..are they home owners..are they
businessmen. parents should have a higher weighted vote when it comes to
school district elections. home owners should have a higher weighted vote when
it comes to allocation and distribution of property taxes. renters have a vote
too, but only weighted for matters that affect them. every city is different
and has different needs.

i often think of how blockchain is used for traceability in ag and food
system. it shouldnt be far fetched to put elections on the block chain. i have
to think about this. i am not sure how it can be done, but it should be
possible.

we should find a happy compromise.. california's bloated big government is
going to smother us all. we have an opportunity now...as it had never been
before..to be able to redesign and remake our world. we also can fix mistakes
and change directions and pivot re humanity's goals. we can be better. right
now, we are all just human apes trapped in a little enclosure we call the
silicon valley fighting for the same resources. and we are crapping all over
the place..making our environment worse for future generations.

first things first...the pressure valve ought to blow some steam if we tackle
the intense 5 day workweek rat race. thats from the working man/woman side. we
have allowed work and jobs define so many of us that we dont even see older
people as part of our community. the same people who are in the fore front of
protest rallies for undocumented immigrants and despair about the number of
homeless people in the bay area dont consider for a minute that handing over
control and power to the govt to keep on taxing us is a way to displace
retired people. a community should have seniors, students, families for
diversity and also for even distribution of resourves. if all the homes in a
town are young families with school going children, the school system gets
over crowded. if everyone is retired, then the town becomes a retirement
community. if its just a university town, there would be noone contributing to
the coffers for the running of the country. why do we demand diversity
everywhere except when it comes to age? from the citizens side, there has to
be a way to have more local control over our towns and cities without handing
over all control to regional governing bodies at county/state/central level.
the govt is only interested in higher tax receipts and it behooves them to
increase cost of living to be able to keep sending the taxman. at some point,
we will all end up working for the care and feeding of the govt.

what do most of us want at the end of the day? we want a good quality of life
here in the bay area with a satisfied and prosperous working populace. we want
a better cleaner sustainable california. we want a govt that works FOR us and
not the other way around. it starts with local government by the people and
not regional government by tax collectors.

