"A curb cut is authority granted to you by the owner of the road (often the state government) to make a physical change to your property and the road to allow customers access"
This development model is very specific to Illinois and should not be generalized across the country. In many places the road could be owned by a local development corp, the county, a non-profit, a pension fund, the bank itself or some combination of the above. Illinois has harsh winters, a 9-5 suburb/downtown traffic pattern, average traffic and lots of land which makes the drive through an important feature and curb cuts EXTREMELY valuable.
There was an article about a homeowner in SF who had a curb cut but was recently denied the ability to park in their (paved) “yard” anymore due to code. They were looking for historical photos of a car in that spot from 80-100 years ago so they could get grandfathered in
“often the state government” does not mean “always.” And I’m not sure how the value of the curb cut fits into the quote and your reply. Can you provide more details?
The whole sequence of: business wants change to curb >
asks state officials for permission >
state official reviews request>
state official send business decision is predicted on the following:
- there is substantial value to creating a curb from specific local traffic patterns
- there is one state body that is tasked with "approving" changes to curbs
- changes are "rationed" so that businesses need to request approval
For example the commission of Clark county in Nevada often prioritizes the interest of the local casino's and can move very fast to remove any "obstacles"
In NYC the value of a curb is going to be much less because there is relatively more foot traffic and much less car traffic, so a bank is not going to prioritize local zoning changes.
In smaller towns you are not going to get as much casual car traffic in general
"Thus, in New York, the median employee in the stock market sector who earns $440,000, according to the State Auditor’s Office"
As someone who works in this sector, this does not look True. An investment Banking VP with 10+ years experience at a bulge bracket probably brings in this much in income however this is not the median worker. There is a huge workforce of admins, Ops, legal, IT that work in the sector and bring it down. Also there is a large amount of burnout/turnover/layoffs in these jobs so that in any given year someone is not getting their full bonus.
There was the free business class trips for everyone (not just higher management), the frenetic office building (at one point we had offices in over 100 countries), and hundreds of millions in WIP/inventory. Definitely not a well run but a blast to work for.
To me this is more a reflection of Chinese society. China has always been a highly centralized place (i.e. its name is "middle kingdom") where internal control is prioritized. The media/application space is a reflection of that. If you look at other countries like India or Brazil that are early in their internet adoption, you see a much more diverse writing ecosystem.
Anyone who thinks facebook (i.e. meta) is going to drop can buy put options. the $150 put 2 years out is selling for $5 so if you buy 100 for $50K - When the stock falls you will have enough money to buy a house
Because Hebrew is gendered Meta (מתה) technically is "she is dead". However that transcription is incorrect and arguably (מטא) is the right one. Those phonics are actually quite common in Hebrew. Similar sounding מטע (Plantation) מטה (Down) מתא(From Cell), מתע (misleading/tricky) could also have been used.
The taxonomy of jobs in china:
Local government positions (<20 hours per week). Relatively low pay. Little job risk . This positions are by design very easy (铁饭碗 or Iron Rice Bowl). There are long vacations and expectations are very low. If you want to spend your time, smoking, having lunch, and going for walks this is the place for you.
Domestic SME’s (20 - 40 hours per week). Moderate job risk - usually from business failure. Think of your small town dentist. If he is on vacation skiing for 2 weeks, no one will complain but business might hurt a bit. Expect Basic, low levels of competence.
Regional and Central Government (40 hours per week). No job risk - substantial risk of being reassigned. One thing the CCP does well is to hire relatively competent people to higher levels positions of governance and MOTIVATE them to accomplish tasks. You will be surprised how many have a reasonable command of English and a daughter with a degree from Oxford.
Division of Non Chinese MNC (40-50 hours per week). Moderate job risk. MNC jobs are considered high status in china because foreign employers are thought to treat employees relatively well. In general they respect local laws and avoid intrusive personal questions. Not considered top of the pecking order.
Large Domestic Exporters (50-60 hours per week). Little job risk - substantial risk of being reassigned. These are the beating heart of Chinese productivity and generally have high quality management. Usually has a local flavor of Taylorism. Loyalty is extremely important. Expect a confusing bureaucracy like any large organization.
Domestic Tech companies (70 hours per week - 996). The pace of product development and iteration within these companies is INSANE. It is like having a three day hackathon only to discover that the team from Missouri solved the problem last night while you were out getting pizza. Code quality, Engineering Practices, IP development does not matter as long as you can crank something out there first. They pay very well by Chinese standards and expect employees to live on the company facilities. Marriage within the company is encouraged as it is thought to foster loyalty. It is common for People burn out very quickly from these jobs.
Should note that this describes white-collar jobs. More than half the population works blue-collar or service jobs, and few of them are working less than 6 days a week.
Have you been to NYC? Or Tokyo? Or Singapore? Have you ever lived in a dense city before? These things just don't happen.
Developers a profit motived and are very aware of what sells and what doesn't. There are a million mechanisms by which we can avoid having a single story house surrounded by skyscrapers.
Counterpoint - Melbourne CBD. Jampacked full of enormous residential towers that are cheaply/poorly designed, far too close together, offer zero amenities and that block out all sunlight.
I used to be in favour of laxer planning regulations until I moved to Melbourne. A lassez faire approach just doesn’t work.
This development model is very specific to Illinois and should not be generalized across the country. In many places the road could be owned by a local development corp, the county, a non-profit, a pension fund, the bank itself or some combination of the above. Illinois has harsh winters, a 9-5 suburb/downtown traffic pattern, average traffic and lots of land which makes the drive through an important feature and curb cuts EXTREMELY valuable.