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Homer (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] Kbin_space_program@kbin.social 81 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It has nothing to do with suburbia.

It has everything to do with the politics of Thatcher and Reagan. Their policies of annihilating unions, human rights and creating tax cuts for the rich by passing on the taxes to the working and the poor created this dystopian reality we now have.

If we cut out the rich and restore what we used to have for rights and protections, we can try to save ourselves from extinction.

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 35 points 8 months ago

The two are related. Oil money supports both the suburban Ponzi scheme and also Reaganite deregulation.

[-] massive_bereavement@kbin.social 28 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

My point is, for a city, every square foot of street has an operational cost, and on top of that infrastructure needs to be rebuilt every x years (I think around 20 ~ 25).
While the upfront cost of said infrastructure tends to come from subventions when building a new development, the city needs to cover the costs for both operations and rebuilding once it's needed.

Why does this matter? Well, detached single-family houses provide lower revenue per square foot of street than middle housing or mid-rises, eventually creating a hole in the city's pockets.

I'm not explaining it very well, but I'll suggest taking a look at this:
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/6/21/whats-the-sweet-spot-for-building-housing-inexpensively
Climate Town - The suburbs are bleeding America Dry

If cities had money, they could build public housing or promote affordable options.

[-] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 8 months ago

The suburbs are just another part of tax cuts for the rich. They're subsidized by the tax money from more dense parts of the city, which tend to be more poor (and usually filled with ethnicities other than white people - hence the term White Flight).

Singke family homes with big grassy lawns and McDonald's parking lots bring in less tax revenue and cost more money in city services per square foot of land than apartment buildings, being a net drain on the budget. So, there are higher taxes on the poor so that the wealthy suburbanites don't have to see them.

[-] exocrinous@startrek.website 2 points 8 months ago

The content of your message is right, but you're using the wrong terms. You're referring to middle class suburbanites as rich.

[-] JoShmoe@ani.social 2 points 8 months ago

I’m more convinced the human race is gonna die off the way futurama predicted it. The one named “I Dated a Robot”

[-] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago

Don’t threaten me with a good time.

this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2024
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