MimicSquid's recent activity
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Comment on Rhode Island’s ‘Taylor Swift Tax’ on vacation homes of the wealthy is influencing second home tax policy in other US states in ~society
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Comment on Rhode Island’s ‘Taylor Swift Tax’ on vacation homes of the wealthy is influencing second home tax policy in other US states in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentYeah, it's about selling their home and buying a smaller retirement home elsewhere with the equity they've built up. The problem (on a societal level) with retired people staying in their paid off...Yeah, it's about selling their home and buying a smaller retirement home elsewhere with the equity they've built up.
The problem (on a societal level) with retired people staying in their paid off home is that it's generally way more home than they need. The house that was big enough for them and their kids is more house than they need/use, and if it's too expensive for them to transition to housing that better meets their current needs they'll stay in the house that could be housing a new set of parents with kids. It's the sort of thing that's meaningless on the scale of one house, but in aggregate the friction associated with people being unable to rightsize their housing situation makes the housing market less helpful to anyone other than major investors.
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Comment on Rhode Island’s ‘Taylor Swift Tax’ on vacation homes of the wealthy is influencing second home tax policy in other US states in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentOr someone who has, like many Americans, invested much of their retirement savings into real estate one way or another. I'm not going to grieve if some rich people with vacation homes get taxed...Or someone who has, like many Americans, invested much of their retirement savings into real estate one way or another. I'm not going to grieve if some rich people with vacation homes get taxed extra, but part of the difficulty of reforming the housing market is the way that lower and middle class homeowners are dependent on their home equity for retirement savings. They're essentially hostages that mean that any major reform to resolve the true issues will hurt a lot of people who're mostly blameless.
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Comment on Tiny co-living spaces are popping up across New York. Local communities see them as ‘harbingers of gentrification’. in ~life
MimicSquid Link ParentIt's irrelevant to this one exact house discussed in the article, sure. You were making a much broader and absolute claim in your prior post, and it's that to which I was responding.It's irrelevant to this one exact house discussed in the article, sure. You were making a much broader and absolute claim in your prior post, and it's that to which I was responding.
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Comment on Tiny co-living spaces are popping up across New York. Local communities see them as ‘harbingers of gentrification’. in ~life
MimicSquid Link ParentIt depends. If a neighborhood was older two story single family housing that was perceived as an uninteresting investment, but one company showed that you could make a profit turning them into...It depends. If a neighborhood was older two story single family housing that was perceived as an uninteresting investment, but one company showed that you could make a profit turning them into boarding houses, suddenly the perceived value of those houses has changed, leading more companies to purchase them for that purpose. This lowers the supply of those houses for their previous purpose. To the degree that the people who had been in those houses would be happy with the boardinghouse, everything is fine, and perhaps prices drop. But it's likely that what's happened is a diminishing of the supply of those single family houses as they're transformed to a type of housing unattractive to the prior tenants. That leads to a lower supply but unchanged demand for the rest of the housing stock.
If all housing units were equivalently appealing to all people, then we could solve the housing crises by converting all housing to coffin hotels, leading to a boom in the total number of "units" where people could live. But the housing market is a bunch of different pools of supply and demand for housing, with interconnected but fairly independent groups of people who want a certain type of housing stock. So perhaps you can see how increasing the number of units of boarding house space could also raise the price of the type of housing that it was before?
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Comment on ChatGPT is blowing up marriages as spouses use AI to attack their partners in ~tech
MimicSquid LinkOne of my closest friends refuses to listen to anyone complain about people she doesn't personally know. If she's going to hear complaints, she wants her own experience of the person so as to have...One of my closest friends refuses to listen to anyone complain about people she doesn't personally know. If she's going to hear complaints, she wants her own experience of the person so as to have a counterbalance to whatever the complaint of the moment is. It seems like ChatGPT would benefit from that sort of separate subjective experience, though I know it's not really possible with the models that currently exist.
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 15 | Official trailer in ~hobbies
MimicSquid Link ParentThe tiniest nitpick: those aren't gargoyles, they're grotesques. Gargoyles are functional waterspouts. Grotesques are just interesting carvings. Though I do appreciate them taking the time to do...The tiniest nitpick: those aren't gargoyles, they're grotesques. Gargoyles are functional waterspouts. Grotesques are just interesting carvings. Though I do appreciate them taking the time to do sightseeing that isn't the inside of a train station.
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Comment on Waymo has received their permit to operate at San Francisco International Airport in ~transport
MimicSquid Link ParentSo far none of the BART station developments have eliminated parking spots. The first stage of development has always been putting in a parking garage sufficient to replace all of the flat parking...So far none of the BART station developments have eliminated parking spots. The first stage of development has always been putting in a parking garage sufficient to replace all of the flat parking lot area so that people can still park there during the development of the rest of the area.
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Comment on Growth vs. value stocks in ~finance
MimicSquid LinkFor people who don't think they have an edge over professional investors, I propose a third thing: the index fund, where you put most of the money and let it follow the market as a whole, which...- Exemplary
For people who don't think they have an edge over professional investors, I propose a third thing: the index fund, where you put most of the money and let it follow the market as a whole, which makes your retirement investments as secure as the market as a whole. And then your investment in value or growth stocks can be smaller bets for the dopamine rather than having our ability to retire be based on your ability to outdo professionals at their own game. I'm not going to say that some people didn't have the right information to buy or sell ahead of the crowd, but for every buyer there's a seller. You've got to be very good to be consistently on the right side of that trade, and most people aren't.
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Comment on 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' review: Change is afoot (again) in ~movies
MimicSquid LinkSo what's next? Uptown Abby, a show about a young woman finding her way in the big city?So what's next? Uptown Abby, a show about a young woman finding her way in the big city?
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Comment on Throwback Thursday: Let's talk old flash and memes! in ~talk
MimicSquid Link ParentI was just talking with my wife about how pleased I was that it was basically replaced with the rickroll. You still get the core joke without being so likely to enlighten or educate in the worst way.I was just talking with my wife about how pleased I was that it was basically replaced with the rickroll. You still get the core joke without being so likely to enlighten or educate in the worst way.
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Comment on Robert Munsch, Canadian children’s author, approved for medical assistance in dying in ~books
MimicSquid Link ParentTo him, death is imminent. You might have still seen his body walking around for a while, but it wouldn't have been much of what made him "him." My grandmother's body lived for ten years during...To him, death is imminent. You might have still seen his body walking around for a while, but it wouldn't have been much of what made him "him." My grandmother's body lived for ten years during which she didn't recognize anyone or speak. She bit a few nurses, which was very much in line with the woman she had been, but that wasn't really her. I am so, so glad that Mr. Munsch is in a place and state of mind where he can still make the choice to die with dignity.
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Comment on Deportation fears are fueling money transfers to Latin America in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentA lot of that money was being taxed the same way that other money was taxed, through income taxes on payroll. It's not like those billions and billions of dollars are all cash being handed out in...A lot of that money was being taxed the same way that other money was taxed, through income taxes on payroll. It's not like those billions and billions of dollars are all cash being handed out in Home Depot parking lots or something.
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Comment on Question about breathing while exercising in ~health
MimicSquid LinkSomething that helped me is singing while I did lighter exercise. If you can manage deep, regular breaths to sing with while you're maintaining even a quick walk, your lungs are in a good place to...Something that helped me is singing while I did lighter exercise. If you can manage deep, regular breaths to sing with while you're maintaining even a quick walk, your lungs are in a good place to support you during more intense exertion. It's less of a workout for your legs, but more of one for your respiratory system.
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Comment on US coffee prices surge in ~food
MimicSquid Link ParentYeah. I'm fortunate to live in a major hub for the importing and local roasting of coffee, and prices for even mid-range single-origin beans have jumped from $15 to $20 in the course of this year....Yeah. I'm fortunate to live in a major hub for the importing and local roasting of coffee, and prices for even mid-range single-origin beans have jumped from $15 to $20 in the course of this year. It's absolutely wild.
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Comment on LocalThunk: ‘I have some unfortunate news: The promised 2025 Balatro 1.1 update isn’t going to come out in 2025’ in ~games
MimicSquid LinkGood for him. I'm glad he's doing it the way that he needs to do it for his wellbeing, and glad that he's in a position that's feasible for him.Good for him. I'm glad he's doing it the way that he needs to do it for his wellbeing, and glad that he's in a position that's feasible for him.
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Comment on Louisiana’s deadly whooping cough outbreak is now its worst in thirty-five years in ~health
MimicSquid LinkIts worst in 35 years... so far. I'm sure Florida's determination to remove all vaccine mandates will ensure that the southeast can beat these rookie numbers in years to come. I joke, because I...Its worst in 35 years... so far. I'm sure Florida's determination to remove all vaccine mandates will ensure that the southeast can beat these rookie numbers in years to come.
I joke, because I don't know what else to do. My heart goes out to the parents who lost their babies. It doesn't matter that the babies died because they were unvaccinated, and it doesn't matter that the pertussis vaccine is available for free to anyone who doesn't have health insurance that covers it, they still lost a child. For that, I have sympathy.
That it was an avoidable death akin to knowingly leaving their baby in a hot car because politicians and other influential figures said it was the right thing to do is something that fills me with directionless anger. The parent's choices directly led to those babies' deaths. But punishing the parents at this point seems like pointless cruelty. Not that I trust this administration to administer such a thing, but there needs to be a way to stop medical disinformation. It's harming so many people and I don't know how to change anything.
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Comment on Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah college event in ~society
MimicSquid Link ParentBut trans folks by way of declaring being trans a mental illness, and trying to take guns away from everyone with a mental illness, which is why the NRA and various 2A groups took the side of...But trans folks by way of declaring being trans a mental illness, and trying to take guns away from everyone with a mental illness, which is why the NRA and various 2A groups took the side of trans people for once. The precedents were very broad.
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Comment on Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah college event in ~society
MimicSquid LinkI hope we have more information soon. Is Kirk alive? Why was he shot? What happened to the shooter?I hope we have more information soon. Is Kirk alive? Why was he shot? What happened to the shooter?
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Comment on Tim Curry says Rocky Horror was originally a 'failure' in rare interview in ~movies
MimicSquid Link ParentThat what makes them a cult classic instead of just a classic.That what makes them a cult classic instead of just a classic.
Easy: The house is held by a real estate rental firm that has one client and one property, and pays the taxes associated with the property. It's wholly owned by another company, which in turn is owned by an estate of whom the client who rents the property is a beneficiary. Does the client own the property? No, certainly not. They just rent it sometimes. Does the rental fee cover the costs associated with the property so closely as to leave the real estate firm with minimal profits after expenses? That's fine. It's not there to make money.