Ben Phelps

Musician and General Theorist. Actual person. Georgist, Heterodox, Urbanist. Trying to make Los Angeles a proper city. Terrible Twitter brand. Go Dodgers.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@JDVance you should be in jail

[sam @sam_d_1995]

it’s probably worth noting that for all of the right-wing narrative around Minneapolis being unsafe, there has only been *one* homicide in the city so far this year.

it happened today and was committed by a masked ICE agent

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@DrewPavlou fuck you

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@sam_d_1995 A lot of YIMBros on this site seem to think Caruso would be good for housing. I don’t buy it for a second.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@Mishka__1 I wouldn’t go that far

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

This brain dead garbage is why I left this place

[Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD @houmanhemmati]

🚨🔥🚨 ABSOLUTE OUTRAGE: California Democrats just rammed through SB79, the "Destroy Single-Family Zoning Act," paving the way to bulldoze our quiet neighborhoods and force everyone but the ultra-rich into cramped rental apartments! This is a direct assault on the American Dream—homeownership that low-income, middle-class, and minority families have fought tooth and nail to achieve. As a dad who treasures privacy, safety, a peaceful backyard where my kids can play without dodging drug needles or homeless attacks, I would NEVER live in one of these cookie cutter rentals. And neither should you be forced to!

@GavinNewsom, VETO THIS BILL THE SECOND IT HITS YOUR DESK! Don't let @Scott_Wiener and his developer cronies turn our communities into overcrowded slums. My Assemblyman @RickChavezZbur nailed it: low-income neighborhoods will suffer the MOST—cheaper land means developers swarm in, demolishing hard-earned single-family homes and replacing them with towering apartments that displace families and jack up prices. Generational wealth? Gone. Safe, stable communities? Eradicated. Only the filthy rich like Newsom in their gated enclaves will enjoy what's left of single-family living.

This scam ONLY benefits greedy developers drooling over prime land, building luxury units under the guise of "affordability" and "homelessness prevention"—while ignoring REAL solutions like cracking down on crime and addiction. No regard for what people WANT: single-family homes in safe, quiet areas, not forced into vertical ghettos!

And the transit fantasy? SB79 assumes we'll all magically ditch cars for public buses and trains—after endless horror stories of stabbings, shootings, rapes, and sharing seats with reeking homeless? NO WAY! It's unsafe, unreliable, and a recipe for more chaos in already strained cities like LA and San Diego.

Californians, RISE UP! This is state overreach at its worst—eroding local control, gentrifying vulnerable areas, and selling out residents to big-money interests. @GavinNewsom, prove you're for the people, not the payoffs—VETO SB79 NOW! Or face the backlash from families you've betrayed.

@KarenBassLA @lanegretesm @GloriaJRomero @spencerpratt @ScottPresler @JustineBateman @SteveHiltonx @jenvanlaar @LindseyPHorvath @

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@houmanhemmati You’re dumb

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@tobyhardtospell @Mishka__1 @vbertoni I do not believe any yes votes on SB 9 has suffered consequences but I don’t have the analytical proof handy. Pretty sure though.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@Mishka__1 @vbertoni It’s importantly to expose them as a very inconsequential voting bloc

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@Mishka__1 @vbertoni Oh no you’ve lost the historical society’s support

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@olongnolo Yes yes I could read and parse the bill text hahaha

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

So…. SB 79 will NOT upzone south Pasadena because it’s under 35,000 population? Is this a joke?

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@olongnolo Ok. Ok. I have totally abstained from social media but you see it’s otherwise quite hard to get these details!

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@olongnolo What height

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@510BLAZE I misunderstood the amendment they still get a quarter mile upzoning just not the half mile. Still.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@jDeniseTerry @sam_d_1995 I think you should seek psychological help, for real.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@LArothstein @cafedujord I live and own a home here what knowledge do you think I lack, I suspect I know much more about Los Angeles than you do.

[Ben Phelps @thisisbenphelps]

@LArothstein @cafedujord Major boulevards are terrible places to live and you shouldn’t consign people to live there. That’s asinine, and a little evil.