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Comment by zepto | Hacker News Reader

> It seems backwards to me to have an incentive structure that keeps the labor force farther from work than retirees.

That is a problem that we don’t have to solve by destroying communities through eviction.

We can build workplaces where property is affordable, and those communities can develop into attractive places to live, and their property prices will rise too.

It seems like a weird non-goal to try to create a society where there are only a few places where there is work and amenities.

The natural response to one place becoming too expensive is to invest in making more places where people can live and work.

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Cupertino school district is planning to close some schools[1] because there aren't enough kids - fewer and fewer young parents can afford to live in this area.

There are multiple ways to destroy a community. Apparently, one way is to artificially cap tax on long-time residents until only old people are left.

[1] https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/14/cupertino-district-pl...

> fewer and fewer young parents can afford to live in this area.

That is due to wage stagnation, not prop 13.

Oh come on.

> Median household income (in 2019 dollars), 2015-2019

> Cupertino: $171,917 [1]

> USA: $62,843 [2]

[1] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cupertinocityca...

[2] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/INC110219#IN...

Many people are having trouble buying property is most prosperous parts of the US.

It’s because wages haven’t grown in line with investment returns over time.

This is not controversial, and is nothing to do with Prop 13 or whether Cupertino has a higher average income than other US cities.

I don’t see how that refutes his point- maybe those young people aren’t living in Cupertino anymore?

Moving all jobs into a few cities and then extorting those who more there is how you get wage stagnation.

>There are multiple ways to destroy a community.

I am convinced that California is hell on earth. It's designed to maximize human suffering and when you tell Californians how to get rid of the heat they tell you that they like it this way and actually would like it even more if it was hotter.

I wouldn't call it "destroying communities through eviction", but I do agree that cramming everyone into the same small set of places is its own harmful issue and should be reconsidered as well.

High property prices are just a signal that investment is better spent elsewhere.

Trying to tax people out of homes because someone else wants them just means underinvestment in other communities.

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