Priced Out: The Bay Area Housing Struggle

Cubic Air Ordinance

San Francisco is the most expensive city in the world and all started with the Cubic Air Ordinance, protecting tenants so they will have enough air to breath.

I have received today my first rejection in my career (20 years as freelance planning engineer), the Hod Hasharon project. The contratists here profit not from building but law suits, and I may have my first taste of a contractor suing me. All day in a bad mood and I try to calm down drinking wine. I know that all engineers are sued and it is part of the business. I was never sued and may be I shall escape here too. I am so intelligent that I may turn this against the "kablan". I can do it.

American cities have consistently asserted so-called “local control” to increase inequality, establishing exclusionary zoning laws to prevent the construction of denser multifamily housing, redevelop low-income neighborhoods, and push poorer residents from their communities. In San Francisco, residents have exploited “local control” to make development as difficult as possible by lowering building-height limits, expanding zoning regulation, and increasing the veto power of homeowners. These privileged neighbors have often appropriated low-income residents’ fears of gentrification and eviction to block any new housing, despite the fact that studies have repeatedly shown that in markets with high demand, adding housing of any kind typically helps decrease displacement.

Environmental Regulation is the Best Moat

They are not making any more land and the little there is cannot be built up because environmental crazies protecting the Earth and the endangered sardine. With zero interest rate (I pay 3%) best quality real property is the best investment of the moment. Pic. Pseudo-Islamic Jerusalem home. 

Deconstructing Ancient Greeks

Western universities were founded to train doctors, lawyers, divines, educated bureaucrats that run country and empire. Later, real science faculties were added: maths, chemistry. These days, new specialties like gender, race, colonialism and class studies are becoming mainstream. Classics are re-interpreted and deconstructed. Xenophon's Anabasis is now the story of imperialist Greeks intervening in the internal politics of a Third World nation, and Xenophon, a racist propagandist of the superiority of the European race. Plato's Republic is identified with the American South, with its exploitation of slave labor, the suppression of women and the "Other" in public affairs, and forced reproduction by gang rape. One can even find homophobic jokes in Aristophanes' comedies, negating the generally believed openness of Ancient Greeks to pederasty. It is good that the new generation criticizes and "deconstructs" their masters' narratives so, in turn, the next generation will be presented with academic material that can easily be laughed off. 

The Brits humiliate Argentina

The Economist humiliates Argentina once more. Britain defeated Argentine forces in the Malvinas war, that is a fact, but the picture published today to represent Argentina (right) is another offense for the self-image of old Argentinians like me.  We used to think of Argentina as a White, European country, and in my times, it was. I never saw a Bolivian indian from the Altiplano like the pictured in the streets of Buenos Aires. I could cry "Racism" but it would not be true because Argentina has undergone a population replacement in the last fifty years. The sons of the Italians and Spaniards in Buenos Aires migrated to Milan and Barcelona, the Jews moved to Miami and Israel. The Economist may have tried to reflect this objective reality. 

Now to the subject matter in hand: Argentina once more imposed foreign currency controls and foreign firms cannot repatriate their investments. That makes idiots of those who believed in Argentina and invested in this country. Argentina's sovereign bonds now trade at a third of its face value. The Economist qualifies this situation as a humiliation for the IMF, but I would accuse Madame Legarde of having wasted American taxpayers' savings. She was booted upstairs and now manages the EU's finances. Decadence, everywhere I look. 

You shall wage war with diversion

An IDF helicopter evacuated soldiers from the northern border to Rambam Hospital in Haifa on Sunday afternoon following the firing of anti-aircraft missiles from Lebanon towards Israel by Hezbollah despite the fact that soldiers were uninjured.

The IDF wanted to create a "fog" on the Lebanese side to allow Hezbollah to flaunt its achievement and meanwhile carried out a massive assault on Hezbollah.

Someone commented: Israel let the hezbos experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all within a few hours. How great is that in demoralizing the enemy. Brilliant!

Note that we are in war. Hizbollah is a terrorist organization but also the de-facto Lebanese government. Under the French, Lebanon was a nice place. 

English vs Chinese Justice

Lord Coke’s ruling that a judge could not be paid with the fines he imposed. Dr. Bonham’s Case, 8 Co. Rep. 107a, 118a, 77 Eng. Rep. 638, 652 (C.P. 1610). 

Judge Dee always expropriates the criminal's property and uses to money to fund his court and its employees. Judge Dee is a historical magistrate who figures in many popular Chinese detective stories. All his cases deal with wealthy, plunderable evildoers.