Don't forget the shithole that BART has become. I commuted to downtown Oakland from Castro Valley for 10 years on BART, it was bearable then. Now 7 years later, you need to watch for needles, bums, and thugs.

"News flash: the problem is not ICE engines, it is the car infrastructure that has been busy sucking up tax dollars, creating suburban sprawl, and making it impossible for small businesses to survive due to lack of economically sustainable/dense/walkable areas, and making life horrible for the 30% of the population who does not drive."

You do realize that there is a large segment of the population that does not want to live in rack'em/pack'em/stack'em apt units.

The CA highspeed rail is now 3x over the initial budget ($33b) and still doesn't have a single line running. The fact the first section of line to actually run will be from Merced to Bakersfield (how may people will actually ride this route?) shows just how much of a gov pork project it is. Additionally, the costs will never match being able to grab a flight from one of the 3 SF airports to one of the 5 LA airports.

How's that "high speed" rail coming along? Or what about Highway 99...that has been undergoing repairs since Bush 41.

I've been remote since '12 but lived in the SF Bay Area for 20+ years until fall '20. I finally moved to east Texas. Not only is every thing cheaper here, the scenery is gorgeous and the people are generally nicer. Oh..and no state income tax is really nice.

The state just needs to step in to downsize the geographic limits of Austin down to a few blocks surrounding the capital building.

I lived in the SF East Bay for 20+ years. That entire region is a shitshow. SF just happens to be the worst of it.

That is what is fostering the decline.

Dune was a same day release on HBO Max. Was it worth seeing in the theaters? Absolutely. But how many people skipped the theater so they could watch at home for free (because they had HBO)?

As to the Oscars - you can blame Hollywood's ongoing obsession with giving awards to movies that people (aka the general public) dont like or care about.

"Wage data includes hazard pay and incentive-based pay but excludes benefits, broad-based bonuses, and most other forms of compensation."

That study only looks at wages only and not health benefits and the cost of those benefits along with retirement benefits. A great example is a BART train "operator". They operate nothing as the trains are automatic now. They pay next to nothing for there benefits and get a guaranteed pension.

https://www.independent.org/pu...

When they go on strike, they basically shut down mass transit for a major metro region. IE - they have the public by there balls.

3... 2... 1...

(remember when Google decided it was ok to be evil?)

The problem with unions today is not normal unions, but with public employee unions. You only need to look at the increase in public employee wages and benefits over the years and how it has out paced the private sector.

Private employment sector unions like this?

I'm all in as I have personally seen the crap down by employers (former HR for an ambulance company).

By the end of the 1930's the number of medallions allowed was just under 12k. By 2014, that number was about 14k. You're telling me those additional 2k cabs increased congestion?

NFTs right now serve one purpose....money laundering.

American TikTok Influencers Are Being Paid To Spread White House Propaganda

Oh...I never said there were not people opposing the occupiers. Stop conflating it.