Michael Hankin 🟣

Data Scientist and ML Eng at Mothball Labs
#YIMBY

[Jesse Singal @jessesingal]

1/ Anecdotal and take for what it's worth but since October 7, the message liberal Zionist types have gotten is that there is absolutely no place for them in any coalition to rein in Israel. Doesn't matter how disgusted you are by Bibi, the settlements, or anything else.

[Senator Scott Wiener @Scott_Wiener]

For the first time in 40 years, San Franciscans have a choice of who they want to send to Congress. Connie Chan and I have a lot to talk about, and I’m challenging her to 15 debates to make sure every San Franciscan gets an unscripted, unvarnished look at who will represent them in Congress. I hope she will accept.

[Barak Gila @barakgila]

first, she came for new homes in San Francisco. Now, she's coming for new homes across the state. If Jane Kim becomes insurance commissioner, she could distort the home insurance markets and make it hard or impossible to build or insure homes across the state. Vote @BenAllenCA!

[M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray]

Howard Jarvis has been at it for 48 years. California still has the highest taxes in the country. All they've accomplished has been to lower efficient taxes, i.e. property/parcel taxes, and raise inefficient taxes, i.e. income/capital gains taxes and impact fees.

[Jesse Zwick @jessezwick]

A lot of staffers and elected officials in Sacramento might find themselves asking a basic question about this tax compromise: “Why 1.5%?”

As it turns out, there’s a very good reason that is not well understood. (1/x)

[Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 @JessicaBRiedl]

Absolutely terrible. The biggest tax hike in decades, and 100% of the revenue would go to (often wealthy) retirees so that they can keep collecting more than they paid in.

Oh, and it keeps Social Security out of deficit for just 4 years. What happened to the Republican party?

[Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebster]

America used to lead the world in transit delivery. Now we lead in transit costs, and build less as a result.

Over the last year, we worked with 17 experts to write a Transit Abundance Playbook with specific policy solutions that directly address the causes of rising costs. Together, they show that our high transit costs are a policy choice that can be fixed.

Check out our solutions at https://t.co/xuGFEybT60:

1. @ericgoldwyn - Reform federal grants to include early, small, milestone-based grants to reduce project risks.

2. @steph_pollack - Cut procedural requirements, fund early right-of-way spending, require accelerated state and local permitting, and loosen procurement rules.

3. @rohanaras and @aarmlovi - Cap federal cost-sharing and encourage joint procurement to reduce bus overcustomization.

4. @_brianpotter - Cut redundant subway cross-passages to bring our fire safety standards in line with Europe's.

5. Anthony Potts - Allow and encourage agencies to do procurement based on the best value, not just the lowest cost.

6. @alon_levy - Require itemized bidding in procurement to increase transparency and reduce mid-stream change orders.

7. Anonymous - Adopt Italy’s "Conference of Services" model to empower a single decision-maker to ensure permitting disputes are resolved up front.

8. Lizzie Speed and @BennettCapozzi - Create a repository for federal transit reports and project data, along with an AI-based system for querying it.

9. Jamey Tesler - Give transit projects the same delegated permitting authorities that states have over highways and roads.

10. @the_transit_guy - Exempt voter-approved transit projects from costly and redundant permitting to deliver projects the voters asked for.

11. @AidanRMackenzie - Allow transit agencies to buy land and prepare for construction while permitting occurs.

12. @PaulrsLewis - Reduce dependence on expensive consultants by encouraging more capacity within transit agencies.

13. @AndrewMillerYYZ - Enable transit automation by spelling out worker protections explicitly instead of requiring a veto-prone process.

14. @profplotch - Provide confidential ways for agencies to share lessons learned with each other.

15. @jmooreotto - Streamline access to federal loans to create an alternative funding model for transit projects.

And many thanks to @mattyglesias for publishing the intro I wrote with @ArnabDatta321 on Slow Boring: https://t.co/VHY5ZQi1xl.

[Michael Hankin 🟣 @MothballHankin]

@Noahpinion @devahaz Lay some better options on us rubes!

[Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 @Noahpinion]

This stuff is the Dems' answer to MAGA, and it's just as insane

[Jessica Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 @JessicaBRiedl]

"250 billionaires own half of California GDP.”

When you don't know the difference between a stock and a flow. Or worse, you know better but don't care.

[Kareem Rifai 🌐 @KareemRifai]

"But what does Darializa Chevalier think about Ukraine now?"

Firstly, I don't know, because she refuses to clarify her position to voters. Secondly, if you are doing Russia apologia on literally day 1 of the invasion, you are not fit for Congress regardless.

[Armand Domalewski @ArmandDoma]

when you oppose building new housing, you end up putting yourself in the absurd position of advocating for dirtier streets to keep your rent low

[Senator Scott Wiener @Scott_Wiener]

https://t.co/smM6rLuB1R

Connie Chan's congressional platform in one word: NO.

No to new housing. No to transit improvements. No to Sunset Dunes and JFK Promenade.

Mine is one word too: YES. Yes to building a fun and affordable city, with plenty of housing for future generations.

[Chris Elmendorf @CSElmendorf]

Great @LeeHepner 🧵⤵️.

Solutions:
- repeal tariffs
- end mandates for above-market construction wages (misnamed "prevailing wage")
- audit & simplify building code
- ban local building code amdmts
- repeal IZ
- replace impact fees w/ parcel or property taxes

Who's on board?

[Armand Domalewski @ArmandDoma]

I think Mayor Lurie is doing a great job, but it should be noted that the only reason SFPD can use drones is because Mayor Breed put Proposition E on the ballot. There are legitimate criticisms of her, but she deserves a lot of credit for that

[Daniel Seidemann @DanielSeidemann]

Whenever Netanyahu is in distress, he calms his tormented soul with the deeply satisfying infliction of gratuitous pain and suffering on Palestinians.

It's also red meat to his supporters.

[YIMBYLAND @YIMBYLAND]

Subway Takes is basically just a bunch of clips of NYC leftists reinventing “blood and soil” from first principles

[Kareem Rifai 🌐 @KareemRifai]

Ilhan Omar joins 194 Republicans in voting against the Ukraine Support Act.

[Kim-Mai Cutler @kimmaicutler]

"The leading Democratic candidates for two key positions are disconcertingly receptive to a disastrous idea: blowing up California’s insurance market just as it’s starting to reach more stable ground. This would, in turn, destroy the state’s efforts to build more housing and make it virtually impossible for would-be homebuyers to secure a mortgage."

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

Seems like if we're really concerned that capital will displace labor, we should start by closing the 16 percentage point tax advantage capital enjoys over labor.