2 HN users recommended this commentary1 month2021–2024score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Brought up in housing and zoning threads as a mainstream outlet making the case that progressive NIMBYism contradicts stated values.
NYT Opinion video essay arguing that Democrat-controlled states like California, New York and Illinois often fall short of their egalitarian values. It focuses on housing costs, homelessness, regressive taxes and school segregation as drivers of inequality.
“You cannot say you are against inequality in America, unless you are willing to have affordable housing built in your neighborhood.” (HN, 2021)
I watched the New York Times opinion piece "Liberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How." [0] recently. This quote sums it up perfectly: >You cannot say you are against inequality in America, unless you are willing to have affordable housing built in your neighborhood. Progressive cities should be leading by example, since they have legislative and executive control, but it's especially unsettling to see them take actions that indicate the opposite of the values that they espouse. 0. [this video]
Progressive cities blocking affordable housing contradict their stated values
I‘m from Europe and never been to SF, but imo taxation isn’t necessarily needed. Instead the „american dream“ should be adjusted. Not every human needs their own family home. Build more apartment complexes. I’ve recently seen in a youtube video by the NYT that there are actual lobbies against changing low density housing zones to high density housing zones: [this video] I’d recommend to give it a watch :) Imo the soviet apartment complexes are a good idea. I live in one as well (Germany), and I can afford rent without hassle.
Lobbies against converting low-density zoning to high density
Also, Liberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How.--NYT Opinion [1] Has a focus on housing, but it's the same underlying issue. People love to signal their virtue, but their true values are revealed by what they do . 1. [this video]
California doesn't revolve around tech workers alone. Of course there's no progressive utopia. That's what utopia means: "no place". But California is incredibly progressive compared to other states in the US. BTW, here's another piece on progressive hypocrisy: [this video]
California is a Democrat-run state. > The stakes were especially high given that Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned for governor on the promise of single-payer, has been notably uninterested in the bill Just watched this seemingly highly relevant video yesterday: [this video]
Relevant to Democrat-run California's policy failures
No he called you a lying fuck because he thinks you're not being honest. I don't think you're lying. But most definitely what he says about liberal democrats is true. [this video] Attacking conservatives was just poor taste and off topic. The reaction you got was well deserved because you tried to give something neutral a political bent.
Reminds me of this video essay from the NYTimes about how liberal hypocrisy fuels inequality, [this video] The sad reality is that a lot of the people who shout the loudest about the problems of wealth and systemic inequality with their words, do very little or even the opposite with their actions. There's probably similar psychology at play as to why it's common advice to not tell people about your personal goals. The act of proclaiming what you want to do gives you that little kick of dopamine that saps your motivation for actually doing it, making it less likely that you'll actually follow through. Waiting until after your accomplishment to share your success is much more effective. In the case of moral virtue signalling, it seems like the act of proclaiming your virtue is much more likely to give you a feeling of moral license that makes you feel ok about acting immorally to serve your self interest. In short, be suspicious of people who virtue signal too much, and judge them by their actions and results, not by their words or intent.
Video essay on how liberal hypocrisy fuels inequality
yes but local government regulation prevents it, zoning and other overt policies manufactured suburbia, not supply and demand, while NIBMYism kills any possible development in urban areas or suburbs on the edges of cities [link] [this video]
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
9 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Citations, criticism and jokes
Read more