u/DeusOfTheMachina

Hi everyone! Longtime YIMBY and lurker on this subreddit. I live in Montgomery County, MD. Last week, we had a fairly contentious county executive election where the key issue was affordability (surprise! The candidate considered the heir to the current NIMBY CEX won). I think it’s safe to say that the cost of living here in MoCo and across the DMV is unsustainably high.

This is especially the case with housing costs.
However, one aspect of this issue that both bewilders and yet fascinates me to no end is the disconnect between what people want and what actually needs to be done.

Here’s what I mean. One of my toxic hobbies is following local real estate channels on social media and oogling at the listings. Oftentimes, these videos are filled with the same few comments and variants of them: “that’s not worth X” or “That’s overpriced”. Mind you, this is for single-family homes. God have mercy on you if you venture onto posts about townhouses, where people reserve their worst scorn for. Some choice comments for these posts I’ve seen include “Any townhome over 500K is just waste, fraud and abuse” and perhaps tellingly: “I don’t want a half a million dollar town home. I want a single family home.” Still others bemoan the construction of new townhouses entirely, saying it should stop because “no one wants them” in some cases, saying there’s already too many people here. We’re full! It’s also not just older people saying this - it’s often people my age (I’m 31) and younger.

In some cases, the OP will respond asking these folks how much they think these houses are worth, receiving responses like “no more than $200k” or thereabouts. Sometimes they will try to explain this is just what the market is like right now, to blind eyes.

This attitude is something that I have seen among my friends and family members as well. I don’t mean to insult or demean them or our fellow residents. But it is quite shocking to me how many people can’t seem to connect the dots - housing is expensive because, despite all the issues we have here, we live in an overall highly desirable area with jobs, good schools, health care access, and so on. People want to live here! Consequently, when people can’t afford to live here, people leave, increasing the tax burden on those who remain, budget cuts, and so on, creating a negative feedback loop.

Other cities across the country (notably Austin) have shown us that you can lower housing costs by building more. It’s not rocket science. But there’s a tremendous unwillingness - a stunning lack of imagination even - from so many to entertain such a notion. Part of it might be cultural. So many grow up under the notion that accomplishing the American dream means having a big SFH with a yard and garage. Density is almost a swear word for many. Another reason might be similar to the concept of temporarily embarrassed millionaires - why advocate for building more apartment buildings, condos, and townhouses when you want a SFH?

The growing acceptance of YIMBY ideas shows there’s been progress made. Still, much work remains to be done. I’d be curious to hear from folks how we can overcome these barriers and help increase understanding of these issues.

Hey folks - my fiancee and I are getting married this July, and were thinking about doing a honeymoon in the Galapagos. Rather than try to arrange all the pieces on our own, we were thinking how great it would be to go through a knowledgable agent who could help us put together an itinerary. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps a relevant piece around the core group of people this department serves. Interesting findings, but I would be surprised if this was reflected in any meaningful change in voting patterns in the midterms this year.

From the poll:

Input costs are crushing American farmers. 78% of farmers name machinery and input costs — fertilizer, fuel, seed, chemicals — among the top three challenges facing their operation. No other issue comes within 30 points

The Iran War is hitting farms in the wallet. 94% of farmers say the war with Iran is impacting their business by raising fertilizer costs, energy costs, or both.

Tariffs are an open wound for the farmers most directly exposed **- and a quiet pressure on producers broadly.**A quarter of farmers (25%) flagged trade policy and tariffs as one of their top three challenges - the third-highest concern after input costs and commodity price volatility. Tariffs also impact the top two challenges farmers named: fertilizer, fuel, seed, and chemical inputs are subject to import duties and supply-chain pressures, and commodity prices respond directly to export-market access.

 
Farmers say federal policy is hurting them. 55% of farmers say federal policies have had a negative effect on their farming operation over the past year. Just 19% say federal policy has helped.
26% said it would make them less likely to be able to pass on their farm to the next generation. 

Farmers point to the current administration as responsible: About one in four farmers (24%) ranks the current administration as the single most responsible for the challenges facing agriculture today — the highest of any tested group.

Farmers feel unheard. 73% of farmers say their elected officials understand the realities farmers face "not very well" or "not at all."

Neither party is trusted. On every economic issue tested — input costs, trade, healthcare, farm income, debt, and labor — between one in five and one in three farmers say they trust neither party to deliver for them.

Roughly four in ten farmers are politically uncertain. 39% of farmers are persuadable from their usual party in 2026 — they are either considering voting for a different party, considering an independent or third-party candidate, considering not voting, or are unsure how they will vote. This includes 35% of farmers who "usually vote" Republican, and 15% of farmers who say they "always vote" Republican.

Among the persuadable farmers, neither party is trusted. On every economic issue tested — input costs, trade, healthcare, farm income, debt, and labor — between roughly four in ten and half of persuadable farmers say they trust neither party to deliver for them.

Turnout intent is unusually high. 54% of farmers say they are MORE motivated to vote in the upcoming election than in the last cycle. Only 5% say they are less motivated.

 

The findings are particularly notable because the surveyed universe is overwhelmingly Republican. Six in ten farmers surveyed say they "always" (30%) or "usually" (29%) vote Republican, and just 6% say they typically vote for a Democratic candidate. The dissatisfaction documented in the survey is coming from inside the President's own political base.