I had a feeling this was going to happen... (Boston: fit in, apartment)

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I mean, there are definitely good arguments to be made against tax-exempt entities. But I'm not sure why you're fixating on this one which would be replacing an existing tax-exempt with another to provide human services in the city.

I agree. Go after the greedy universities. Lots of money to made there.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Just saying maybe its not best to have any type of supportive housing service for the afflicted in an areas full of kids.

Nothing against the children of Roxbury lol.

Why not, and what does "afflicted" mean here? According to you the whole neighborhood is afflicted--not that anybody even mentioned Roxbury to begin with.

[bigfatdude]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I mean, there are definitely good arguments to be made against tax-exempt entities. But I'm not sure why you're fixating on this one which would be replacing an existing tax-exempt with another to provide human services in the city. If I were going to make the anti tax-exemption argument, this wouldn't be my hill to die on. I'd probably start with the abundance of college and universities who own vast portions of the city. Harvard quite literally owns half of Allston. This is a drop in the bucket comparatively.

All of the money that would into the purchase of this is going to come from existing sources of funding for this type of project. Each fiscal year, federal, state, and city budgets allocate funding for projects such as this and interested parties have to apply and have it awarded to them. So those "taxpayer dollars" are already out there (or they will be in whichever fiscal year the developer actually starts applying for funding). If they don't go to this project, they'll go to another somewhere else. It's not as if derailing this development somehow prevents that money from being spent.



Certainly not enough to justify the keystrokes wasted in complaining about it so far...

There's nothing wrong with spending that money to help people. There is, however, everything wrong with the way it's being spent on this particular project. It's like buying a single McLaren F1 for hauling garbage instead of buying a whole fleet of dump trucks for that same money. You're not helping people, you're wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and depriving the city of future property tax revenue that could be used to maybe, I don't know, help people?

As for colleges, they do get research grants but at least the rest of the money typically comes from tuition and wealthy donors, not from taxpayer pockets. And I'm all for taxing the daylights out of them if they make profit on selling any of their real estate, though that's assuming that money is used on things like infrastructure improvements and not nine figure Back Bay junkie hotels.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by bigfatdude

There's nothing wrong with spending that money to help people. There is, however, everything wrong with the way it's being spent on this particular project. It's like buying a single McLaren F1 for hauling garbage instead of buying a whole fleet of dump trucks for that same money. You're not helping people, you're wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and depriving the city of future property tax revenue that could be used to maybe, I don't know, help people?

As for colleges, they do get research grants but at least the rest of the money typically comes from tuition and wealthy donors, not from taxpayer pockets. And I'm all for taxing the daylights out of them if they make profit on selling any of their real estate, though that's assuming that money is used on things like infrastructure improvements and not nine figure Back Bay junkie hotels.

Your facts about "helping people" are wrong, and appears to be just coming out of your keester. You help people in part by keeping them connected to the communities from which they came. You help them by giving them an opportunity to be employed and to be close enough to needed support services like medical care, transit, vocational support, other social services, and their families. These are some of the reasons they are already here. The other factor is that most of the suburbs don't allow programs, which is why most support systems are clustered in the city. And if you think the colleges aren't fleecing the taxpayer then you clearly haven't been paying attention. They are sending kids away with lousy education and tens of thousands in debt, as they keep raising tuition rates. And they know they can charge what they want because guess whose money pays for the loans?? And guess how much money the upper management and faculty make in many cases??
https://www.newsweek.com/2017/05/19/...er-606707.html


https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/a...how-they-do-it

[bigfatdude]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Your facts about "helping people" are wrong, and appears to be just coming out of your keester. You help people in part by keeping them connected to the communities from which they came. You help them by giving them an opportunity to be employed and to be close enough to needed support services like medical care, transit, vocational support, other social services, and their families. These are some of the reasons they are already here. The other factor is that most of the suburbs don't allow programs, which is why most support systems are clustered in the city. And if you think the colleges aren't fleecing the taxpayer then you clearly haven't been paying attention. They are sending kids away with lousy education and tens of thousands in debt, as they keep raising tuition rates. And they know they can charge what they want because guess whose money pays for the loans?? And guess how much money the upper management and faculty make in many cases??
https://www.newsweek.com/2017/05/19/...er-606707.html


https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/a...how-they-do-it

Ah yes, all those junkies came straight from Marlboro St brownstones and not a single one got bused in from Springfield, Lawrence or New Bedford, gotta keep them all within a block or two of their ancestral homes! And all those methadone clinics are on the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth, within easy walking distance. Every single room will cost the taxpayers a cool million or so right off the bat and many more millions in uncollected property taxes but who cares, those pockets are bottomless!

As for colleges I do not pay your tuition, you do. And if you decided it was a good idea to pay $250,000 for an early 20th century silent black and white German pornography studies degree and have your coffee slinger wages garnished you have no one but yourself to blame.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by bigfatdude

Ah yes, all those junkies came straight from Marlboro St brownstones and not a single one got bused in from Springfield, Lawrence or New Bedford, gotta keep them all within a block or two of their ancestral homes! And all those methadone clinics are on the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth, within easy walking distance. Every single room will cost the taxpayers a cool million or so right off the bat and many more millions in uncollected property taxes but who cares, those pockets are bottomless!

As for colleges I do not pay your tuition, you do. And if you decided it was a good idea to pay $250,000 for an early 20th century silent black and white German pornography studies degree and have your coffee slinger wages garnished you have no one but yourself to blame.

Please review:

https://www.logicalfallacies.org/

[bigfatdude]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Please review:

https://www.logicalfallacies.org/

I see, so they all got off the Mayflower and went straight to Back Bay, and our taxes, not your tuition, pay all those evil professor salaries.

Also, you keep babbling on and on about the nonprofit “already being there” - has it not occurred to you, Mr Logic, that YW is completely irrelevant and the only thing that matters is the fact that the property is being sold to a nonprofit at its current market value that is most likely in hundreds of millions, with taxpayers being on the hook for most of it? YW isn’t giving that building away, it’s selling it and you along with me and everyone else are paying for it.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by Blue Salmon

How about they take responsibility for themselves so they don't need help?

I realize good, working people sometimes fall on hard times, but a lot of problems could be avoided by making better decisions. The two biggies are: Stop having children you can't afford and don't try hard drugs.
Also: Finish high school and (if you have mental health problems) take your damn meds.

While I wouldnt disagree that our welfare policies need to stop incentivizing having too many kids, the people who become homeless and on the streets are, by and large, those with medical/health/psychiatric diagnoses. I understand that some people have a very difficult time looking at the world beyond the bridge of their own noses, and that moralizing everything allows one to to claim a false sense of superiority and avoid looking at their own flaws, but if you can't look at your own flaws it might be helpful to at least have some informed opinions. Medical problems don't generally fall within the framework of morality, regardless of whether they are physical or psychological. Otherwise, as I said, all those people stuffing their faces with food (big addiction that costs billions) and smoking various weeds, or "functional" alcohol abusers should get on a treadmill, adopt a healthy lifestyle and stop jacking up all of our healthcare and tax costs. Or, if you ever get speeding tickets or have crashes or get laid off, use public safety service or anything else outside the realm of sheer perfection. Our taxes are being used in a number of ways, so start by looking in the mirror.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by bigfatdude

I see, so they all got off the Mayflower and went straight to Back Bay, and our taxes, not your tuition, pay all those evil professor salaries.

Also, you keep babbling on and on about the nonprofit “already being there” - has it not occurred to you, Mr Logic, that YW is completely irrelevant and the only thing that matters is the fact that the property is being sold to a nonprofit at its current market value that is most likely in hundreds of millions, with taxpayers being on the hook for most of it? YW isn’t giving that building away, it’s selling it and you along with me and everyone else are paying for it.

The only thing that matters to you is for you to be 100% "right" regardless of facts, because your hypocrisies are on display for the world to see. Buy bye, Fat Dude.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Blue Salmon

How about they take responsibility for themselves so they don't need help?

I realize good, working people sometimes fall on hard times, but a lot of problems could be avoided by making better decisions. The two biggies are: Stop having children you can't afford and don't try hard drugs.
Also: Finish high school and (if you have mental health problems) take your damn meds.

I agree on the stop having kids you can't afford and stay away from alcohol/drugs. This seems to be too much to ask of many people though. Also seems like there are plenty of single people without kids who still end up in trouble. I don't think homelessness is a problem that will ever go away especially as things get more and more expensive in life.