[Dimetrodon]

I have no faith that Biden will raise taxes on the rich, and will just make a half-assed attempt that doesn't go anywhere.

[Fasces]

If rents are so much higher on the free market, the access to the low-renting housing must be restricted by other means. They cannot be "widely available" as you claim.

Widely available in the sense that its easy to find affordable apartments in the city center. There is no shortage of affordable housing forcing people who work in low-wage jobs in urban centers to commute for hours.

That presumes most people work in the city centers and not in the outskirts, and it presumes public transit is bad.

Most people do work in city centers that's why they're called city centers and most urban centers in the West are not designed with decentralization in mind. The population of most cities changes by a significant percentage during day time hours. DC for example doubles in population during the day. London's population swells to 11 million - an increase of 2 million. San Francisco receives 300,000.

The quality of public transit has nothing to do with the time spent wasted on public transit. If you live an hour and a half outside of Chicago's city center, it doesn't matter whether the train taking you there is world class. It still takes an hour and a half. Each way. Every day.

[B0ycey]

I have never read anyone support high rise living before. Most people like a garden. But to answer the question, China could begin to populate their many ghost cities and divert some of their economy out of big cities to lessen congestion rather than continue to build everyone on one plot which would make more sense for numerous reasons away from low rents. In Europe high rent is down to supply rather than space in any case. And commuting seems a dying trade now. Covid has made home working the big thing and nobody wants to give that up now. And that is not even taking into account that most businesses don't look for office space in the "Big City" anymore. They tend to operate in hubs that are outside big cities.

[Rugoz]

Widely available in the sense that its easy to find affordable apartments in the city center. There is no shortage of affordable housing forcing people who work in low-wage jobs in urban centers to commute for hours.

How is $500 a month cheap given the average annual salary in Shanghai is ~85k yuan ($13k)?
https://www.statista.com/statistics/108 ... -shanghai/

Here's how a $500 apartement looks like:

Like wtf? How is that even remotely acceptable?

The quality of public transit has nothing to do with the time spent wasted on public transit.

The frequency and speed of connections are essential to the quality of public transit.

If you live an hour and a half outside of Chicago's city center, it doesn't matter whether the train taking you there is world class. It still takes an hour and a half. Each way. Every day.

Apparently the public transit in Chicago sucks.

[wat0n]

@Fasces I agree with you, commuting sucks. But isn't the move towards working from home going to change this to some extent?

PS: The public transit doesn't suck here.

[QatzelOk]

Other. He thinks hyperinflation is on the way.

And this means, according to his calculations:

1. that he'll need the land to make ends meet and feed his young'ins,
OR
2. that skyrocketing food prices will make him some kind of calorie dictator with access to everyone's food inputs?

I asked for the long-term reason why Bill Gates would buy up farmland. You only gave his strategic game for this round, not the long-term objective. Why do we allow these kinds of future dictators to occur?

He obviously doesn't need the land to feed this family, so the real reason is... to be able to blackmail billions of other people with starvation and control of food supplies. To be able to control other people the way that Britain controlled Ireland with famines and bribery.

Is this kind of "leadership" worth creating with un-taxed and out-of-control rich people?

[Rugoz]

PS: The public transit doesn't suck here.

How long is your commute?

[wat0n]

How long is your commute?

40 minutes or even less. But I live within the city limits, the people @Fasces is probably talking about are those who live in the suburbs and commute to the city. You can do that using public transit but it takes longer because the distances are longer.

I guess I could include poor neighborhoods there but honestly plenty of poor people Uber to the subway (which is old as hell and ugly, but still does the job somehow) if they are far from a bus stop or a subway station.

[Torus34]

40 minutes or even less. But I live within the city limits, the people @Fasces is probably talking about are those who live in the suburbs and commute to the city. You can do that using public transit but it takes longer because the distances are longer.

I guess I could include poor neighborhoods there but honestly plenty of poor people Uber to the subway (which is old as hell and ugly, but still does the job somehow) if they are far from a bus stop or a subway station.

Commuting is a mixed blessing. I live at the southern tip of Staten island and commuted for over 25 years to my job in Long Island City, Queens. For the first year I drove. Then I changed to public transportation. My travel time was 2 hours and 20 minutes each day, each way. Of that time, roughly 4 hours was available for doing whatever I wished to do. I used the time to read, study and learn. Have you any idea how much you can learn through serious effort at the rate of 20 hours/week for 50 weeks a year over a 25 year period?

Regards, stay safe 'n well.