Comments
Lemmol t1_islf85d wrote
The horror
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_ism8el2 wrote
The County’s very own Section 8 has a couple of units in every type of build. And the best properties all go to County employees. What a bunch of self serving bullshit.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_ism7om4 wrote
Arlington desperately needs a new form of government in place of the County Manager system. Five well meaning people who are elected in staggered cycles are accountable to no one are mesmerized by developer giving them their very own Sim City with an ever expanding tax base to fund their projects. They have a problem listening to their constituents when they say No. The last time they got a comeuppance was the Streetcar debacle. They pissed always millions because they thought no one was watching or no one cared. Let’s not do that again, ok?
Brawldud t1_ismukaw wrote
I’m a constituent and I say yes. Arlington has too few homes for too many people and its zoning code is the culprit. Time for change.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_iso7gyx wrote
> too many people
That’s right, it’s a desirable area. No one is entitled to live here. And only the people living here have the right to determine zoning.
Brawldud t1_isoa2xs wrote
I live here. I say it’s time to upzone. I’m sick of seeing my friends leaving because the rents are rising and pushing them out. I’m sick of seeing the people who stay forced to make difficult sacrifices every day to make rent.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_ispddhv wrote
I’m sick of paying for other people’s stuff. It’s bad enough already with the services the county budgets on top of education, now people are are encouraging more residents to live here. And not just encouraging them, but subsidizing them. And if that’s not bad enough, it’s the kind of people who consume more than they contribute.
If people can’t afford it here, I’m sorry. But living here is not a right.
Brawldud t1_isph8ak wrote
What does changing the zoning code have to do with subsidies? This isn’t just a selfish argument, or just thinly veiled hatred for everyone who depends on wage income or state assistance for a living, but your argument is not even factually correct.
The fact of the matter is that the people who make Arlington function from day to day are forced to commute in from farther and farther out, which is awful for their cost of living and quality of life. It’s absolutely disgusting to say that the people serving our drinks, cleaning our offices, delivering our pizzas, walking our dogs, driving our buses and caring for our disabled and elderly don’t deserve to afford to live where they work. And you treat them like burdens to cast away!
It’s way past time to legalize MMH. If that drives people who think like you to pack up and go somewhere where you don’t feel like you’re “subsidizing people who consume more than they contribute”, all the better.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_ispqhr2 wrote
> It’s absolutely disgusting to say that the people serving our drinks, delivering our pizzas, walking our dogs, driving our buses and caring for our disabled and elderly don’t deserve to be afford to live where they work.
Does that really disgust you? Good, you entitled piece of shit. Before accepting a job, I was able to calculate how much it would cost to live in various proximities around my work. Not surprisingly, it was more expensive living closer to DC. Did I want to drive or endure the stench of the hoards of the unwashed on public transportation? It never even occurred to me to ask for, much less demand quality and affordable housing where it was heavily in demand. I suppose if I had, I knew the sort of reply I would get.
Furthermore, go fuck yourself, implying I hate anyone (well, excepting you now). I have all the sympathy in the world for the working poor you just described, but were too cowardly to call them. I think they deserve social assistance. Like free healthcare, like a livable minimum wage, and many other progressive entitlements. But if they have to endure spending two hours on a bus each morning to commute to work, better them than me. And I expect as they find more lucrative work closer to home for them to take it. Jack up the costs of goods and services for me. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
And I’ll tell you one thing, it ain’t me who’s “packing up” and going elsewhere. I don’t vote. I donate money to see that people who do vote don’t elect whackadoodles who subscribe to David Alpo GGW nonsense. And there’s people far richer than I’ll ever be who will curb stomp the missing middle so it will never be found.
m00fassa t1_isqe0z9 wrote
Since Brawldud is playing good cop here, let me play the bad one.
Jesus fucking christ madam moneybags, this would have probably very little impact on your day to day. The system is obviously fucked, at least there's an effort to try and fix it. You're a perfect example of a NIMBY. We don't have rent control here in Arlington! I make a lot of money by conventional standards and I can still barely afford it here. You sound like someone who has profited from this fucked system - which I don't blame you for. Good for you! If you were able to work hard and afford to buy property, congrats. But let me tell you now, I could work super fucking hard on MY salary and still not be able to afford property in this area for YEARS and I think thats fucked. I can't imagine what it's like for people making the average in this area. This isn't entitlement, this is basic human decency. If anything here, you're the entitled one.
My question is if you've got your house and your car and your backyard then why step on people who simply want a place to live? You said you'd hate to commute to work 2 hours. But I bet you stop by the starbucks drive thru on your way out every morning no? Maybe grab a sandwich at the shop across from your office? Happy hour after work? Swing by the gas station for a fill-up? Get your groceries for the week? Who the FUCK do you think does these jobs, the fucking holy spirit? Why the fuck should anyone have to commute 2 hours to work? Cities are where the fucking JOBS are, you can't just go to suburbia and expect to find "lucrative work closer". What a close minded statement. Most of those people probably work way harder than you do, then have to commute 2 hours home after. Fuck you. If I took away your house/money/cars/investments whatever and told you to start from square 1 as a college graduate (debt included) right now - I bet you couldn't do it. Suburbs were a mistake, they continue to be a mistake, and while it's too late to fully fix it - at least we can amend some of the zoning. And thats something I'm all for. And something I'd be happy to put my tax dollars to.
You ever drive down 66? 395? You're telling me that you enjoy that fucking parking lot that entails during the morning and evening rush hours? You like paying a fucking $10 toll just to get into the city? You think making the roads bigger are gonna help? Fuck no. We need to invest in more affordable high-density housing AND public transportation - and its shits like you who sit in their fucking 9 person SUV that is parked doing absolutely nothing 98% of the time (look up the stat if you don't believe me) that's not letting an antiquated system die. "the unwashed on public transportation" jesus christ the absolute massive balls on you. How about you go to a country that does public transportation right - and you see just how much better that makes life. You go to France, and its faster to take the train than drive - every time. Don't get me started on Japan. Cleanest (and fastest) trains you've ever seen. It's possible.
Nobody's saying you hate anyone. I'm glad you have sympathy for the "working poor" - thats a good start. Next step is taking actual steps to fix a system that has kept poor people poor for generations. This country, the classic American dream is supposed to reward hard work, thats what the beauty of it was. Maybe you're old enough that it even worked for you. Unfortunately that is no longer the case, and unless farts like you get your heads out of your asses (or i guess out from under your piles of money) - this country is going to fall to shit because like it or not you depend on the working class. Pick up a history book and you'll see that whenever the working class is kept poor for too long, the guillotines come out.
Also jesus christ fucking vote you twat. I don't give a damn what you vote for, but get your lazy ass up and vote. It's SO easy - and the whole point of democracy. The fact that you donate money instead of voting shows just how fucked the system is here. Shouldn't be something you proudly brag about. Curb stomp the missing middle with votes, not money.
I hate having to get involved on social media drama and don't expect a response from me after this, but goddamn I saw your comment and had to say something. I'm not saying this is a perfect solution, but it's a step in the right direction. Wish you could see that. The opposite of affordable housing is unaffordable housing. HOUSING. As in a roof over your head. Think about that.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_isqtuv3 wrote
> I could work super fucking hard on MY salary and still not be able to afford property in this area for YEARS and I think thats fucked.
And you have the gall to call me entitled? LMAO! I can’t afford a place in NYC with a view of Central Park, and I’m not bashing the system.
> if you've got your house and your car and your backyard then why step on people who simply want a place to live?
I’m not stepping on a god damned soul. I’m simply sick of the leeches being applied to my skin every fucking year. Buy into a new development in Arlington? Who do you think is paying for those “affordable units”? Not the developers. They’re held hostage by the County in a dozen other ways.
> Who the FUCK do you think does these jobs, the fucking holy spirit? Why the fuck should anyone have to commute 2 hours to work? Cities are where the fucking JOBS are.
Thanks for your concern for my caffeine. But as I already said, I don’t expect people to schlep 2 hours for their health. Starbucks will either go fully automated or offer an enticing wage. Yes, that latte is gonna be 20 bucks. Convenience costs, after all.
> How can you complain about the exact quality of life issues that a chronic housing shortage causes in the same breath that you oppose fixing that same shortage?
Because pal, this ain’t my first rodeo. It is the height of naïveté if you believe these proposals will “fix” a god damned thing. One glance at the County’s projections to the tax base and population had me in stitches. This is the Streetcar scam all over again, except move the decimal point to the right a digit.
Brawldud t1_ispw0wr wrote
> Did I want to drive or endure the stench of the hoards of the unwashed on public transportation? It never even occurred to me to ask for, much less demand quality and affordable housing where it was heavily in demand. I suppose if I had, I knew the sort of reply I would get.
> But if they have to endure spending two hours on a bus each morning to commute to work, better them than me. And I expect as they find more lucrative work closer to home for them to take it. Jack up the costs of goods and services for me. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
How can you complain about the exact quality of life issues that a chronic housing shortage causes in the same breath that you oppose fixing that same shortage? How can you argue for people to make hard sacrifices as some kind of shitty performance art about how things are “supposed” to work, when zoning is an artificial distortion creating unnatural housing conditions to begin with? How can you say “better them than me” when the point of legalizing conversions to MMH is that no one has to lose?
> I have all the sympathy in the world for the working poor you just described, but were too cowardly to call them. I think they deserve social assistance. Like free healthcare, like a livable minimum wage, and many other progressive entitlements.
Those things which we both think they deserve are not what is on the table before us today and neither of us has the power to fiat them into being so I frankly do not care. The imminent possibility of legalizing MMH is what’s real. Arlington can be better and the means to accomplish that is staring us all in the face. But instead you throw this literal “I don’t hate the poors BUT” nonsense at me and call me the coward.
SFH-exclusive zoning in a place that has the jobs and transit options that working people need is a ridiculous handout to the people who need it the least. Rich asshole NIMBYs or no, I’ll stick with the side trying to do some good.
an-itch-in-her-ditch t1_isw7zy3 wrote
> A 27-year-old nonprofit employee, she never thought she would be able to afford to buy in Arlington County
She shouldn’t be living in Arlington now. She should be out in Fairfax, Manassas, or PW County and saving. Or get roommates. Sacrifice is or a dirty word.
Reasons2BCheerfulPt1 t1_isjxynf wrote
Here’s what they want to let developers build: https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/sharedassets/public/housing/images/mmh_diagram_opticos.jpg