Phil BuildTheFutureNow
@philsustainability.bsky.social
470 followers 73 following 5.5K posts
Economics and sustainability
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NY's high taxes cost jobs. NY ranks among the worst for tax competitiveness, driving businesses & people out.
2018-2023, NYC saw one of the largest net outflows of corporate HQs in the U.S.
fewer jobs, less investment, and a weaker economy. It's a race we can't afford to lose
NYC's well-intentioned rent regulations backfired. By capping rents for some, we disincentivized new construction and locked people in under-used homes. This shrank the overall rental supply, funneling insane demand into a smaller unregulated market and driving rents higher for everyone else.
New York builds “affordable” housing with no income checks or local preference. Wealthier newcomers move in for lower rents, vacancy rates fall, taxes rise, debt grows, and services get cut, leaving actual low-income New Yorkers worse off. It’s housing policy as a hamster wheel. 🏙️💸
Rent control for the rich
Plus: Fort Collins tries passing zoning reform for the third time, Coastal California cracks down on Airbnbs, and state lawmakers try to unban rent control.
reason.com
Philadelphia's population of over 1.57 million is nearly double that of San Francisco's 827,000. One city has about twice as many people as the other!
Dog domestication is the most successful startup in history.
MVP: A proto-dog that didn't run away.
Product-Market Fit: mutually beneficial survival partnership.
Exit: Literally inheriting the Earth.
The real O.G. tech innovators were cavemen and wolves who did the world's first startup pivot.
They went from rival predators to B2B partners: we give food scraps (seed funding), they give security & hunting tech.
equity stake? A 15,000-year partnership. 🐕
We keep wondering why consumer spending is so strong.
The top 10% of earners account for nearly half of all spending. Why? Fat investment accounts. When stocks are up, they spend. It's the "wealth effect" on steroids.
If stocks fall, spending follows.
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
The World Feels Weird Now. Here’s How to Invest
Political upheaval, the shock of tariffs, an AI bubble? Financial experts on navigating turbulent times.
www.bloomberg.com
In February 1975, New York City entered a serious fiscal crisis. Under mayor Abraham Beame, the city had run out of money to pay for normal operating expenses, was unable to borrow more, and faced defaulting on its obligations and declaring bankruptcy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...
History of New York City (1946–1977) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
In 2024, U.S. airlines carried approximately 900.2 million passengers.
The year ain’t over and the NYC subway moves more people than every plane in America
The St. Nicholas National Shrine at the WTC looks straight out of Dune, glowing stone walls, soft light, and this calm sci-fi holiness. Like if a cathedral and a spaceship had a baby.
we really had it figured out with art deco
People are often surprised that my progressive politics stem from my upbringing in the Social Gospel tradition of the International Council of Community Churches, a Protestant body known for championing racial equality and justice. Faith is the heart of our activism.
Distracted driving fatalities (smartphone notifications) were 3,275 in 2023, estimated ~3,000 in 2024.
Mass transit rider fatalities average ~50-100 per year, FTA reports (total transit fatalities ~284, passengers a subset).
Smartphone related fatalities are 10X higher than mass transit fatalities.
Should TikTok be responsible when illegal and deadly stunts go viral with children?
Crazy how prices have changed over 10 years 🧐
My Chipotle order is up 44% and my Starbucks run costs ~39% more.
Yet, through it all, the NYC subway base fare has only gone up 9% 🤯
Sometimes the real MVP is the one getting you home for (relatively) cheap.
I hate biking in NYC on bike lanes overrun with massive e-bikes that are basically illegal, unregistered motorcycles. It ruins the safety for everyone. (And one killled a neighbor last week)
One of these things is not like the other
A month of getting around NYC:
🚇 Subway/Bus: ~$136 (with OMNY weekly cap)
🚲 Citi Bike: ~$18 (with annual membership)
🚖 Uber: ~$900+ (just a rough guess!)