Should the Tea Party embrace cities?

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...-downtown/

Quote : Residents of dense downtowns should urge Tea Partiers to take up the fight against socially engineered suburbia through federal homeownership subsidies and sprawl-inducing federal highway spending. ... The federal home mortgage interest deduction is public paternalism at its worst. The mortgage deduction made the federal government the silent, subsidizing partner of the millions who lost billions in the recent housing crash. The subsidy encourages Americans to borrow as much as possible to bet on housing. The failure of these housing policies is practically a perfect parable on the folly of public paternalism. I hope that the Tea Party learns this lesson and fights to get government out of the interest-subsidy business.

Seems to be something many can agree on regardless of political persuasion, much like getting rid of agriculture subsidies.

On a personal note: I find the zoning of my own city (DC) to be very frustrating. The height limits on buildings lead businesses to build sky scrapers just outside the city (so DC loses out on taxes) and the lack of tall buildings full of condos mean that people either choose to live outside of the city and strain the highways/transit system or they push up the prices of other housing in the city.

Quote from Epiphyte : http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...-downtown/ Seems to be something many can agree on regardless of political persuasion, much like getting rid of agriculture subsidies.

I can agree, but the "trimming" by the tea party seems a little one-sided. Let them trim agriculture subsidies first then I will be on board with the above.

Quote : On a personal note: I find the zoning of my own city (DC) to be very frustrating. The height limits on buildings lead businesses to build sky scrapers just outside the city (so DC loses out on taxes) and the lack of tall buildings full of condos mean that people either choose to live outside of the city or they push up the prices of other housing in the city.

http://www.welovedc.com/2009/05/1...ght-limit/

Quote : Back in 1894, the Cairo apartment building was built on Q Street NW in Dupont Circle. At 14 stories tall, it was the tallest building in the city at that time, and some residents had concerns about it. Would it overwhelm the lower-density neighborhood? Was it structurally sound? Would existing fire-fighting equipment be able to reach top floors? Those last two questions were primarily the reason that Congress stepped in in 1899 to establish the Height of Buildings Act. Technology at the time was advancing quickly, but questions remained about the safety of such a tall building. Height limits at the time were fairly common in American cities, including Boston and Chicago.

Quote : As it turns out, many cities had height limits at the turn of the century, but the District’s was never repealed and it became a distinctive feature of the urban landscape. Why was it never repealed? Possibly because people really liked the “light and airy” character that Thomas Jefferson envisioned, possibly because after the advent of rooftop decks, District residents loved their views, or possibly because it would require an act of Congress to change it. Either way, it has become ingrained in DC’s culture, and it looks like it’s here to stay.

Quote from Epiphyte : http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...-downtown/ Seems to be something many can agree on regardless of political persuasion, much like getting rid of agriculture subsidies. On a personal note: I find the zoning of my own city (DC) to be very frustrating. The height limits on buildings lead businesses to build sky scrapers just outside the city (so DC loses out on taxes) and the lack of tall buildings full of condos mean that people either choose to live outside of the city or they push up the prices of other housing in the city.

Absolutely. I think the libs and libertarians can agree that these subsidies are detrimental.

Uncle Sam should not subsidize your Mcmansion anymore than he should subsidize your corn-syrup laden food.

Quote from rrc06 : Absolutely. I think the libs and libertarians can agree that these subsidies are detrimental. Uncle Sam should not subsidize your Mcmansion anymore than he should subsidize your corn-syrup laden food.

Yup, unfortunately, rural areas have a lot of leverage over the political process via the Senate so it's hard to change either subsidy.

(I understand that the Senate has been designed in part to give some inordinate power to smaller states, but the difference in population between large and small states is staggering today)

Quote from Epiphyte : http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com...-downtown/ Seems to be something many can agree on regardless of political persuasion, much like getting rid of agriculture subsidies. On a personal note: I find the zoning of my own city (DC) to be very frustrating. The height limits on buildings lead businesses to build sky scrapers just outside the city (so DC loses out on taxes) and the lack of tall buildings full of condos mean that people either choose to live outside of the city and strain the highways/transit system or they push up the prices of other housing in the city.

Where are the sky scrapers around DC? There are definitely no "sky scrapers" on the Virginia side, maybe in MD?

As a fellow "in-the-beltwayer" I love the zoning of DC. The height limitation is for the monuments, and we have great sightlines. You can see the monument from nearly all of Arlington, for example.

And for housing? Most of the great jobs in the area aren't even in the district proper, dude. Unlike other cities the jobs have spread out along with the housing. It's not like people live in a fifty mile radius of NW and everyone works in NW. Fairfax county has over 1mm people ferchissakes. There was a time where over 30% of the internet ran through Fairfax. Tysons is growing every day. Corporations love being close to Dulles, and jobs are moving west every day.

Because of this, we still have a beautiful city. On a hot summer night, hang out in NW. Then go hang out in Manhattan. Northwest Washington is beautiful and clean. Manhattan literally smells like a sewer.

Quote from 808Lurker : I can agree, but the "trimming" by the tea party seems a little one-sided. Let them trim agriculture subsidies first then I will be on board with the above.

What makes you think the Libertarians don't want to do just that?

Quote : Put farm subsidies out to pasture Blocking the farm bill's renewal would put an end to welfare for farmers WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Congress attempts to put together a farm bill stacked with subsidies and other expensive programs at the taxpayer's expense, the Libertarian Party is calling for the bill to be scrapped completely. "It's absurd that we're paying farmers billions of dollars during a time of soaring crop prices," says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. "Taxpayers should not be subsidizing farmers while paying higher prices at the grocery store. Congress has a unique opportunity to put farm subsidies out to pasture once and for all by not renewing the farm bill. Farming, like any other American industry, should be left to the forces of the market, and not to the influences of government intervention."

http://www.lp.org/news/press-rele...to-pasture

Quote from discoverEdeals : Where are the sky scrapers around DC? There are definitely no "sky scrapers" on the Virginia side, maybe in MD?

Hi neighbor!

They might not rival those in NYC, but Rosslyn has a number of tall buildings. Whether you consider them skyscrapers or not doesn't really matter. What matters is that similar buildings could not be built in DC due to height restrictions. Many of the only mildly tall buildings in Crystal City wouldn't be able to be built in DC too. Office space in DC proper is tremendously expensive and the height restrictions contribute to that.

Quote from discoverEdeals : As a fellow "in-the-beltwayer" I love the zoning of DC. The height limitation is for the monuments, and we have great sightlines. You can see the monument from nearly all of Arlington, for example.

That's true, but I don't think all parts of DC would need to abandon height restrictions. They could focus on a few areas, like southwest, or midtown, so as to preserve views of the monument and Capitol. The recent development near Union Station could be significantly larger, if not for the restrictions.

Quote from discoverEdeals : And for housing? Most of the great jobs in the area aren't even in the district proper, dude. Unlike other cities the jobs have spread out along with the housing. It's not like people live in a fifty mile radius of NW and everyone works in NW. Fairfax county has over 1mm people ferchissakes. There was a time where over 30% of the internet ran through Fairfax. Tysons is growing every day. Corporations love being close to Dulles, and jobs are moving west every day.

Yup, there are a lot of good jobs throughout the suburbs. But, you still get a large influx of people coming into the city to work (which stresses the roads and metro).

Houston has virtually no zoning laws. With VERY rare limitations, you can build whatever you want wherever you want. It's strange. A mechanic shop next to a bar next to a residence in some places.

I know it's a jerky thing to think, but I think of suburbanites the same way I think of welfare queens. The feds and states subsidize the living heck out of them and all they do is take and complain. Maybe that's just because I've been a city guy all my life.

Quote from Epiphyte : Yup, there are a lot of good jobs throughout the suburbs. But, you still get a large influx of people coming into the city to work (which stresses the roads and metro).

So isn't the solution to have zoning restrictions so there can't be any more office space in the city proper? If you spread out the jobs, you spread out the commute.

And howdy back to you, neighbor Weather is beautiful today, but supposed to be a million times better tomorrow. Stay safe and have fun with St Patrick's day and the beginning of the hoops tournament.