5 ms·

“Democracy in the US is failing because of the resources invested into public transit” might be the hottest take I’ve read in 2025. Nice.

cyberax 9mo ago
Yep. Increased over-centralization in the US wouldn't have been possible without transit. And it's the main reason for polarization. You have large cities (SF, Seattle, Chicago, NYC) that are the centers of economic growth, and you have thousands of small cities that are slowly dying. These large cities and their satellites are growing at an unsustainable rate, even though the _overall_ population is flat. And then the cities themselves, they have a huge population of low-income workers who can't afford to live there without some form of subsidies. It started with transit, but now the freaking NYC mayor is talking about subsidized grocery stores. This is another source of polarization. Want to see an even starker example? Look at Japan. Tokyo is in a literal housing price bubble in a country with a _shrinking_ population.
- throwaway2037 9mo ago
  > Tokyo is in a literal housing price bubble in a country with a _shrinking_ population. No, this is wrong. (1) There is no housing price bubble in Tokyo. Yes, some very central "ku's" (Shibuya-ku and Minato-ku) are seeing a rise in home prices, but it is nothing ridiculous. It is no where near a repeat of the late 1980s. You can easily select a neighborhood just ten minutes away and it will have sharply lower prices. Also, Japan effectively has zero NIMBYism due to a national building code. New housing is constantly being built in Tokyo. (2) Yes, overall, the population is shrinking in Japan. However, the population of Tokyo continues to rise.
  - cyberax 9mo ago
    Really? Like, really? Here's the graph: https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/japan/home-price-trends https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/japan/home-price-tr... > Also, Japan effectively has zero NIMBYism due to a national building code. New housing is constantly being built in Tokyo. Yup. It's a great example of why "just build more" leads only to misery. > Yes, overall, the population is shrinking in Japan. However, the population of Tokyo continues to rise. Thank you for making my point.
venturecruelty 9mo ago
Must be why European democracy is in shambles then: it's the damn trains and buses! Who woulda thunk?
- reop2whiskey 9mo ago
  [dead]
- cyberax 9mo ago
  Yes. Exactly. I suggest looking at Germany and the rapid ascendance of the AFD. And then looking at real estate prices in Berlin.

cyberax 9mo ago

Yep. Increased over-centralization in the US wouldn't have been possible without transit. And it's the main reason for polarization. You have large cities (SF, Seattle, Chicago, NYC) that are the centers of economic growth, and you have thousands of small cities that are slowly dying. These large cities and their satellites are growing at an unsustainable rate, even though the _overall_ population is flat. And then the cities themselves, they have a huge population of low-income workers who can't afford to live there without some form of subsidies. It started with transit, but now the freaking NYC mayor is talking about subsidized grocery stores. This is another source of polarization. Want to see an even starker example? Look at Japan. Tokyo is in a literal housing price bubble in a country with a _shrinking_ population.

throwaway2037 9mo ago
> Tokyo is in a literal housing price bubble in a country with a _shrinking_ population. No, this is wrong. (1) There is no housing price bubble in Tokyo. Yes, some very central "ku's" (Shibuya-ku and Minato-ku) are seeing a rise in home prices, but it is nothing ridiculous. It is no where near a repeat of the late 1980s. You can easily select a neighborhood just ten minutes away and it will have sharply lower prices. Also, Japan effectively has zero NIMBYism due to a national building code. New housing is constantly being built in Tokyo. (2) Yes, overall, the population is shrinking in Japan. However, the population of Tokyo continues to rise.
- cyberax 9mo ago
  Really? Like, really? Here's the graph: https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/japan/home-price-trends https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/asia/japan/home-price-tr... > Also, Japan effectively has zero NIMBYism due to a national building code. New housing is constantly being built in Tokyo. Yup. It's a great example of why "just build more" leads only to misery. > Yes, overall, the population is shrinking in Japan. However, the population of Tokyo continues to rise. Thank you for making my point.

venturecruelty 9mo ago

Must be why European democracy is in shambles then: it's the damn trains and buses! Who woulda thunk?

reop2whiskey 9mo ago
[dead]
cyberax 9mo ago
Yes. Exactly. I suggest looking at Germany and the rapid ascendance of the AFD. And then looking at real estate prices in Berlin.