In defense of NIMBYs - the rights of municipalities to map their ownfutures….

Matt Yglesias wrote a post on the need for moderate-priced housing in the DC area and suggested rezoning to allow for greater density.  This set off a wave of responses including some rather typical "NIMBY" comments and cautionary tales about how zoning changes may not result in the desired moderate-priced housing.

"Not In My Back Yard"

Income Inequality vs the middle class Pac Man analogy…

In the wake of the Wisconsin protests that seem to have spread across the rust belt - there appears to be a glimmer of hope that the public has finally awakened from their stupor of complacency.

This is in part happening because the props holding up the middle class have been knocked out from under them.  Easy access to credit - GONE!  How about cashing out some of the untapped equity in your home? You've gotta be kidding me - WHAT equity?

May you live in interesting times...

Matt Yglesias posted on the voting trends of younger people.  I wrote  a comment that I decided to repost here.

Voting trends are just that - trends. Trends can turn on a dime - just like the varying popularity of kitten heels, flats, and platforms. At least such is the case during times of relative prosperity.  Prosperity breeds complacency.  It is during such uninteresting times that we sow the seeds of our on destruction.

As someone in the latter half of their forties - I came of age during the Reagan era. Spin and the mere fact that not much "bad" happened during the 80s and 90s to derail the American dream led to a quantum shift towards the conservative. The youth of our day will hopefully learn from our mistakes - because they are certainly paying for them. (And for that - all I can offer is a humble apology across the generational divide. )

American Exceptionalism - Distinguishing Innovation from Exploitation

Foursquare is an example of clever exploitation - not true innovation..

Foursquare - an application for mobile phones or other mobile devices including GPS -  is a social networking site for people on the go. = Users can "check-in" at venues using text messaging or the web.  The check-in gives the user points and badges.  As a Realtor® I am familiar with Foursquare but have chosen to confine myself primarily to Twitter for my mobile local presence.

Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai founded the company two years ago - Foursquare is now considered to be worth $250,000,000.  The two founders were interviewed  by Fareed Zakaria   on his CNN special - "Restoring the Dream."  As such, Mr. Zakaria was sighting Foursquare as a symbol of hope for American "exceptionalism."

Now, I have no desire to diminish the achievements of Dennis Crowley or Naveen Slevadurai.  Creating something that captures the imagination of the masses so quickly is no small feat.  It is indeed an example of how someone with an idea can do well as a start-up in the US and still achieve great success.  However,  in terms of American " "exceptionalism," it falls well short in one crucial area.