Favorites October 28th 2021

dylan matthews @dylanmatt

As ways to tax the rich go, just adding new tax brackets for rich people is underrated

Donald Schneider @DonFSchneider

Another hour another brand new tax scheme. Via @PunchbowlNews https://t.co/6lrdwOpJz4

This seems to have made into the current budget reconciliation bill as a pay-for. Not unlike the millionaire tax of the early 20th century. $14 billion for forest fuel management as well!

John Geary @john__geary

Housing in 21 days. Absolutely wild 🤯 We signed the contract on this Abodu Two just 21 days ago. Delivered it yesterday. Permitted in 1 hr (thx @CityofSanJose!). 10 days to build foundation + utilities, unit installed in 1 day. Tenants moving in next week. Go @MyAbodu!

This is really cool, also kinda interesting the level of difference it is when the foundation is the vast majority of the time on the site.

Samuel Hammond 🌐🏛 @hamandcheese

I don't have a strong opinion about whether EV charging stations need to be subsidized, however the argument that "gas stations don't get subsidies, why should EVs?" neglects the fact gas stations are the 3rd largest category for SBA 7a loans by volume.

I had not considered this angle

Yonah Freemark @yfreemark

One element to watch closely: Housing. White House this $150b will: -Fund construction/improvement of 1m homes -Address public housing capital needs -Expand vouchers to hundreds of thousands -Provides downpayment assistance -Invest in redevelopment -Incentivize zoning reforms

As you can imagine, I'm particularly excited about that last item. Good news: zoning changes are cheap!

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

This is a fun way to look at the labor market. For the last 30 years or so, there was a strong correlation between the prime-age employment ratio (what fraction of 25 to 54-year-old workers had jobs) and wage growth. Then COVID happened and it broke down. fullstackeconomics.com/how-covid-19-b…

This is a good article, one item he doesn't mention is that school quarantine rules are so strict that parents can't rely on school as childcare right now.

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

FOREIGN STUDENTS SUBSIDIZE AMERICAN STUDENTS, THEY DO NOT REPLACE THEM FOREIGN STUDENTS SUBSIDIZE AMERICAN STUDENTS, THEY DO NOT REPLACE THEM FOREIGN STUDENTS SUBSIDIZE AMERICAN STUDENTS, THEY DO NOT REPLACE THEM FOREIGN STUDENTS SUBSIDIZE AMERICAN STUDENTS, THEY DO NOT REPLAC

Ethan Mollick @emollick

When American universities admit foreign graduate students, what happens to domestic ones? This paper argues that, on average, an influx of 10 international students leads to 8 additional domestic students, as foreign students subsidize domestic ones. https://t.co/UE4rLl3MYR https://t.co/QOCnh2bszh

lichunan @lichunan

@Noahpinion Plus many of them are the most talented youths from those countries, and many of them stay and work in the US, contributing mightily to US competitiveness. It’s a real bargain. We should pay to being talented foreign students in

The more I think about it, the stronger I feel on this subject, it certainly *feels* like there's a limited number of seats, but in practice it doesn't seem to be true. There are many problems we can't fix, we shouldn't break the few components that keep things working.

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle

NEW: California officials are investigating whether the San Francisco Board of Supervisors acted improperly when it rejected a 495-unit apartment complex near the corner of Sixth and Market.

trib.alState investigating S.F.’s decision to reject turning parking lot into 500 housing unitsThe California Department of Housing and Community Development is investigating whether...

Follow-up on that insane decision yesterday, fast turnaround...

August 2021, Mountain View