A break from more weighty topics…
After his lawyer quits and 12 people show up at Michigan State, @richardbspencer cancels his "college tour." "Things are difficult…we are now in something that feels like a hard struggle," so he's quitting. https://t.co/J49W6K9Yw6
— Evidence-Based Glenda (@GilmoreGlenda) March 12, 2018
he’s saying he’s having a … struggle? what would be the German for that https://t.co/66h2crexXP
— Eric Rauchway (@rauchway) March 12, 2018
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Also, Peter Thiel’s wannabe neighbors have a big sad about those lousy emigrant-excluding Kiwis. Per Bloomberg, “The Rich Aren’t Happy About New Zealand Foreign Bolthole Ban”:
Rich-listers like Californian billionaire Ric Kayne have issued a warning to New Zealand — banning house sales to foreigners could hurt the country’s reputation and turn wealthy investors away.
Kayne, who has built an exclusive golf course in New Zealand and wants to expand his investments, is one of several rich businessmen who claim the proposed new law will have unintended consequences. They’re seeking amendments to the draft legislation or its withdrawal in its current form…
The new Labour-led government came to power in October on a pledge to fix a housing crisis with a raft of measures, including a ban on foreign speculators buying residential property. While data suggest non-residents have only a minor impact on the wider housing market, support for the move was boosted by headlines about rich foreigners buying mansions and farms in New Zealand as boltholes away from the world’s ills.
House prices have surged more than 60 percent in the past decade amid record immigration and a construction shortfall. In biggest city Auckland, prices have almost doubled since 2007 to an average of more than NZ$1 million ($730,000). That’s made it more difficult for first-time buyers to enter the market and driven up rents, leaving increasing numbers of poor people homeless.
“It’s really important for us that we sort our housing market out, that we give New Zealanders a fair go at buying their first home,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a television interview Sunday. While the country welcomes foreign investment, “what we want is good-quality investment that supports the productivity of the New Zealand economy,” he said…
Kayne, who plans another golf course of similar quality that will be open to the public, said he will also be forced to sell the house he’s building for himself and wife Suzanne under the new restrictions.
Although he is a New Zealand resident, the legislation would not recognize him as one because it requires people to spend at least 183 days a year in the country — something his business interests prevent him from doing…
Yeah, it’s all about “optics” — but after the horrors that jet-setting parasites have inflicted on cities like London, New York, and San Francisco, I somehow doubt there will be many tears shed for the plight of thwarted golf-course developers and their ilk.
Late Night Schadenfreude Open Thread: For Whom No Violin Is Tiny EnoughPost + Comments (36)