M1EK D

This is the kind of 'social spending' that's a complete waste; paying a consultant to produce a plan to pay people supposedly being 'displaced' and the end cost of all of this is worse for 'displacement' than just letting more things get built more easily at the start.

Julio's position obviously takes as a given that no serious person would ever cut spending identified as 'social'. But the voters knew that going in and voted overwhelmingly (against headwinds) to not approve the tax rate that would prevent those cuts. They knew. Do it!

It serves Julio's purposes as a semi-advogrifter to keep sounding Very Serious and insist Nobody Has A Plan On What To Cut but it's the same kind of dishonest that the establishment tried after Prop B. You may not LIKE what the voters said, but they were clear.

The voters saw tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on interventions purported to solve the homelessness crisis and that money was obviously wasted in ways that a two-year-old could see. That money should be drastically cut (CM budget did it, or so we hear).

There are a lot of people (Julio and those with less convincing forms of blather) who keep trying to push back against budget cuts that the voters very obviously asked for, implying that they are impossible. This is Prop B redux. The will of the voters is clear.

This could be us if we weren't strangling the solar industry to help keep oil prices up

Just gave a totally #inspiring statement in a work meeting that since I was a young lad I always aspired to be a combination of a human rubber stamp and a human weathervane.

Or just go back to the old AURA playbook of calling 65% of the electorate "ghouls". It'll work this time I bet.

Julio wants those social services dollars because he tied himself to publicly funded social housing, which, man, read the room. Or the state. Realize that the market is the only lever we're going to be allowed to use and grow up about it.

As usual, though, Austin insiders are delusional about the nature of the average voter and of the impact the larger political system they live in has on them. For instance, Julio is harrumphing about cutting social services. Yes! The voters said yes! Cut those services now.

The average normie voter LIKES what Abbott did to finally clean up the Johnson Creek Hike&Bike Trail. Go ahead and call them 'ghouls' for it and see how far that gets you.

Your average normie voter made it very clear that if the cops and the griftocracy each ask for a dollar and there's only one dollar to give, the cops are going to get that dollar, because the grifters made the problem WORSE, not better.

The wrap-up on Q is very simple: Voters noticed tens of millions of dollars previously spent to help the homeless didn't do anything to make the public spaces any safer or cleaner, until the very end when Watson did a performative last-second Hail Mary on it. It's Prop B II.

The magnitude of the Prop Q loss ought to promote a lot more humility from its proponents than has been in evidence so far.

I voted against Prop Q, the first time I've voted against a local property tax increase. The recent actions and statements by the city show they cannot and should not be trusted with even more discretionary funds at this time.

can't wait

ps: I slept in 15 minutes this morning and went down the Green Lane at 7:15 instead of 7:00 and had to yell at a student stepping out into the bike lane without looking at 24th as per usual. put me in A Mood.

but, of course, it will be soon enough, probably worse in the long-run.

appreciate the m1ek-signal on this one though

it's not better than the status quo, which was a painted bike lane IIRC, which is what should be next to a bunch of driveways.

The tone-deaf statements by councilmembers and the mayor, and the effort to once again tie an unrelated issue to the Trump/MAGA guys also cemented it for me. Vote no.

for both the people without homes and, especially important, for the normal taxpaying citizens who are just trying to go about their daily lives safely and comfortably without having to completely avoid public spaces.

Especially relating to the tens of millions of dollars already budgeted, supposedly to help the homeless, which has instead enriched non-profit grifters while the actual problem has gotten much worse...

I voted against Prop Q, the first time I've voted against a local property tax increase. The recent actions and statements by the city show they cannot and should not be trusted with even more discretionary funds at this time.

Lots of urbanists who profess to believe that incentives affect behavior who are pretending that enforcing the camping ordinance frequently won't get at least some of the campers to finally accept living under the rules involved in taxpayer-paid shelter.

Congratulated guys on old team at company that laid me off 2 years ago on a big release and got invited to their celebratory happy hour which then I couldn’t refuse so then I was awkward, happy, one beer, and now sad. The enb.

It’s now possible again to have a relatively pleasant ride all the way to 183 on the south shore but it could sure use a little wayfinding work

New bridge sitch from a couple days ago:

Sharing as an FYI for those who could not attend the community meeting tonight. Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more

A week in and Austin's longest-tenured urbanist is still the only one who had guts to reply in the lion's den. AURA is courageously throwing themselves happy hours instead of presenting their views where the normies are.

nextdoor.com/p/mjPBJcNMNL...

The city's most positive possible spin on encampment cleanup contains the fact that something like 51 of 53 people "refused intake". Bear that in mind the next time some credulous idiot tells you we don't have enough shelter so we have to let our public spaces be trashed by bums.

Like ten or so years ago, two advogrifters took over AURA’s transit arm and strongly backed moving the 5 off Speedway as part of Cap Remap because it helped them - but they were also sure it’d boost ridership. It’s now slated for cancellation for low ridership.