Re:Home ownership is the West’s biggest economic-policy mistake
by bovine3dom on Tuesday April 20, 2021 @08:48AM
(#26873844)
> Maybe votes actually don't matter that much?
I think Brexit is a good counterpoint to this: almost every large corporation thought it was a terrible idea, but it still got voted through and carried out.
> Good for them! One question: could I add my own flooring to my flat for allergy purposes? If the neighbors are loud after my kids' bedtime, can I ask them to stop? Will that cause tension? Would I need to call the police if it escalated?
With a HDB flat you can do whatever you like - you buy a 99 year lease with the assumption that the building will be demolished after then.
I don't really know Singapore well enough to give you good answers on your other questions, other than that sound insulation is generally good and people really respect the police in general.
Genuinely curious: when has one-person-one-vote ever really constrained special interest groups, particularly in the US? Large corporations tend to get their way a lot during legislative sausage-making, and they have zero direct votes. Maybe votes actually don't matter that much?
> People in Singapore really love their flats. I think what people don't realise is that the space between the skyscrapers is well used with lots of playgrounds, parks and sports facilities. It isn't giving up your garden: it's swapping it for a much larger shared garden with facilities you could never dream of affording on your own.
Good for them! One question: could I add my own flooring to my flat for allergy purposes? If the neighbors are loud after my kids' bedtime, can I ask them to stop? Will that cause tension? Would I need to call the police if it escalated?
(I'd be much more interested in exporting Singapore's health care system to the US, which seems quite compatible with American cultural and economic constraints, than its housing policy, which seems entirely mismatched to housing constraints in 95% of America.)