[spdrun]

OTOH, I’m much more bothered by landlords and other property owners of rental or other non-primary homes getting Prop 13 protection. Taxpayers have absolutely no business subsidizing landlords’ profits and/or the costs of a second home, vacation property, or tracts of raw land (as with the Williamson Act).

Profits get taxed as income. Much more equitable for the state to tax income and distribute it to municipalities than having rich towns be able to tax much more than less wealthy areas.

Capping property taxes at ~1% of value with a defined rate of increase for everyone in the state seems like an equitable solution. It makes the property market fairly predictable — owners can’t suddenly be hit with a 50% rise in taxes, killing their profit margins or making properties suddenly money-losing. A large tax increase would either be passed on to tenants, or if it can’t be, would result in a lot of abandonment and insurance fires. As happened in places like Detroit and Newark, NJ in the 60s.

Prop 13 is not a subsidy. It’s a tax limit. One that can be overridden anyway by things like parcel taxes, provided the people living in an area have the will to do so.

[spdrun]

Many people seek the services of a psychiatrist. Unless the psychiatrist reports them as dangerous to themselves or others, the government can’t just take away their civil rights (like it or not, the 2nd Amendment is considered a civil right) because they made an appointment with a professional.

However, something was broken in the reporting structure that no action beyond a welfare check was taken in response to threatening videos posted online.

[spdrun]

I think we’ll never here. Americans (outside of NYC, at least 😀 ) are far too law-abiding and rule-following. Simply turning a blind eye to the more onerous and idiotic of regulations is just fine in my book.

As far as making representations to others, I’m happy to live up to a contract signed with an individual I know and like. But if I’m dealing with a governmental or quasi-governmental entity run by a clique that might change the rules on whim, my first thought is “SCREW ‘EM.”

And I certainly wouldn’t be a damned rat and report my neighbor’s activities to such an organization unless I was being directly harmed by them. Better to be a weasel and a supporter of weasels than a rat.

It’s also self-interest. If you intrude into a neighbor’s affairs, what makes you think that said neighbor won’t start intruding into yours and ratting you out for minutiae? Rules are always subject to interpretation, and you’re probably breaking a few without even knowing it.

The saying about glass houses and stones … everyone lives in a glass house, whether they realize it or not.

[spdrun]

joec — the guy who went berzerk in Santa Barbara was pretty well-off by all accounts. The ironic thing is that most of the rampages we’ve seen recently have been done by middle-class to wealthy men in their teens to early 20s.

[spdrun]

Stupid laws and rules are meant to be broken, and in general, rules should only be enforced if someone is actually being harmed by them being broken.

Ratting on the owner of the house next door just to be a stickler serves no constructive purpose except to irritate the neighbor, and is a game that two can play at. I’m sure everyone breaks some regulation or rule at some point.

Besides: would you rather have an owner who is having a financial hard time rent out a few rooms, or have a foreclosed home sitting in limbo next door?

This country needs a bit more anarchy and fewer busybodies in order to run smoothly.

[spdrun]

Generally, short sales have an agreement with the bank that they have to be offered on the open market for a certain amount of time to make sure the bank secures the best/highest offer.

[spdrun]

Problem is that there’s good gas and bad gas, though perhaps it applies more to diesel. I’ve had a fuel filter clog up twice after buying fuel from a certain station in Virginia. Takes about 5 min to replace, but the filters are $10 a pop so any savings on fuel price are eaten.

[spdrun]

I’ve seen short sales in the last few months that stayed on the market for hours or came on the market immediately as “pending.” It would lead one to suspect something like that.

[spdrun]

You’re supposed to beg permission before throwing a party in your own back yard now? News to me, assuming we’re not talking about a party on a work/school night.

[spdrun]

If breaking the rules harms nobody, why exactly “should” they be followed? We’re talking about people sharing a house, not a toxic waste dump.

Live. Let live.

[spdrun]

$9.32 isn’t $13.

[spdrun]

On some level, I think that’s cool that the cop tried to resolve things without resorting to punishment. Maybe the ideal thing would be to allow a given car a certain # of warnings per year, followed by immediate tow or ticketing.

A good cop should be more of a peacemaker and less of an enforcer. Too many cops see themselves in the latter role without remembering the former.

[spdrun]

Are those FSBOs, pocket listing, or what?

[spdrun]

On the East Coast, in the old hoods where people have lived for generations, homeowners won’t stand for new comers coming to park in front of their houses. Their teenage kids might bash your car. It’s changing, but that wasn’t all too uncommon.

I’ve never had that experience. Not in NYC where parking is a free-for-all. Not at the beach, where driveways are rare in many towns. Not in Hoboken or Jersey City where people park where they can. Not in DC. Not even in the small town where I went to college where street parking was common in the downtown where I lived.

I did get my windshield cracked once by sk8r-punks bouncing off cars, but that was about the worst that happened. (Short of having a car stolen outside of DC, but that’s another story.)

Only times that parking spots get “reserved” is after a snowstorm in Boston, where people put chairs and things in the spots to hold them, and woe betide the one who disrespects that. And handicapped spots in front of houses that need them in some towns e.g. Hoboken.

I could see that kind of vandalism happening in some far-flung areas of Brooklyn or Queens, especially if the driver is of the wrong ethnic persuasion, but I can’t say it’s too common either.

[spdrun]

Another annoying thing is sometimes, some large SUVs practically BLOCK 1/4 – 1/2 your driveway so you can’t get out.

Police won’t ticket people for parking less than x feet from a driveway in SD?

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