Welcome to my weekly digest for October 21, 2022. For new subscribers, this contains a roundup of my recent writings and podcasts, as well as links to the best articles from around the web this week. You can control what emails you get from me by
I would like to see you explore the arguments around YIMBY in more depth. At a glance, I think the accusation of YIMBY "imperialism" falls flat. Fundamentally, by placing the power at the state level, we are overruling the imperialism that determines what *you* can build on your own property.
Much of the harm of zoning is aggravated by infrastructure distortions and subsidies. Cities like Spokane are in "soft default" as are all the suburbs and exurbs who will never be able to cover the costs of their highways, sewer, public services, and roads based on low-density, car-dependent SFHs.
I don't have a dog in the fight, but I am fairly convinced of the arguments that there is a giant suburban Ponzi scheme on top of our issues with housing supply, and YIMBY is a step in the right direction. Georgist land value taxes would be a good next step...
Good article on YIMBY. The King's Hall podcast just did an episode on seminaries. One of the hosts threw out the idea that much like other colleges, seminaries are recruiting students based on keeping enrollment up to cover their cost of operations. Eric Conn gave examples of guys he met in seminary who had no business being pastors, but no one was willing to tell them that. I have to wonder if many of the seminary leaders are undermining the theological commitments intentionally. I don't have any first hand knowledge of seminaries, but it looks like another aspect of our education system that needs to be overhauled if it can be reformed at all.
I would like to see you explore the arguments around YIMBY in more depth. At a glance, I think the accusation of YIMBY "imperialism" falls flat. Fundamentally, by placing the power at the state level, we are overruling the imperialism that determines what *you* can build on your own property.
Much of the harm of zoning is aggravated by infrastructure distortions and subsidies. Cities like Spokane are in "soft default" as are all the suburbs and exurbs who will never be able to cover the costs of their highways, sewer, public services, and roads based on low-density, car-dependent SFHs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/10/24/dispatches-from-spokane-living-a-soft-default
I don't have a dog in the fight, but I am fairly convinced of the arguments that there is a giant suburban Ponzi scheme on top of our issues with housing supply, and YIMBY is a step in the right direction. Georgist land value taxes would be a good next step...
Good article on YIMBY. The King's Hall podcast just did an episode on seminaries. One of the hosts threw out the idea that much like other colleges, seminaries are recruiting students based on keeping enrollment up to cover their cost of operations. Eric Conn gave examples of guys he met in seminary who had no business being pastors, but no one was willing to tell them that. I have to wonder if many of the seminary leaders are undermining the theological commitments intentionally. I don't have any first hand knowledge of seminaries, but it looks like another aspect of our education system that needs to be overhauled if it can be reformed at all.