DC Parking Shenanigans

[James Ford]

Was I really once one of those douchey white DC guys? I hang my head in shame.

the indignant over the top bleating about this is just amazing...   suck it up or stay away...

You sound like Rhett when he used to live in the district.

BTW - it's no secret that MD, VA and DC cops target cars from the other two *states for tickets. That's been going on for years.


* I consider DC a state because after all...it's in a right fucking state.

[chaz]

the indignant over the top bleating about this is just amazing...   suck it up or stay away...

What's amazing is the depths to which your DC apologism will sink.

[chaz]

DC should have a sensible commuter tax that allows the city to recoup its costs for catering to suburbanites all day.  Because that will never happen, I say soak the MD/VA folks as much as possible.

Sure, that results in individual absurdities like this situation, but it's no more absurd than DC residents subsidizing suburbanites for using their city to the tune of more than $1 billion annually.

I wonder how much of the lost income tax is recouped by retail dollars, foodservice dollars, sales tax, and a million other revenue streams i can't think of right now.

Face it - DC needs the populations of MD and NOVA to survive.  You can talk about lost jobs to suburbanites all day long, but it's not like DC has a population that could even come close to staffing it...

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Face it - DC needs the populations of MD and NOVA to survive.  You can talk about lost jobs to suburbanites all day long, but it's not like DC has a population that could even come close to staffing it...

That's true, but the populations of MD and NOVA need DC in order to have interesting lives.   For every 1 person on the internet saying "I'll take my business elsewhere," there are 100 who won't... and 9 out of 10 of the people who say that are just blowing smoke and aren't going anywhere.

Face it -- even in the worst of the Marion Barry years, MD and VA people continued to throng in here.   So the District asserting its right to not give non-taxpayers free amenities is not going to drive people away, other than a handful of cranks who believe it's their Constitutional right to have free stuff.

It's a well established rule that the amount of time people spend bitching on the internet about a particular issue is inversely proportional to the probability that they will actually do anything about it.

[Jaguar]

Let's make a deal. Move all of the jobs, especially the Fed jobs, way out of DC into the outer parts of Maryland and Virginia. Lord knows, there's plenty of people out of work now and would love a chance at some job creation. (Personally, I'd like to put dibs on Maryland receiving all of the museums and Arts organizations. Virginia, you are welcome to take the IRS and money works.)

In the bargain, we'll stay out of the District.

All private businesses will have the freedom to remain or move with the money.

Now, let's see how you all do when fending for yourselves with no help from us.

That also means that DC would forfeit all the extra Fed money they get for being the Capital. Where the Hell do you think you get all that money anyway!? People in Iowa certainly aren't getting their money's worth!

Some of you cringeworthy snobs seem to think that you are giving money away to these employees and forget that working for pay is a trade off of sorts. Or maybe you would prefer that all employees live in the District. Try that and see how super crowded it gets, not to mention what it will do to rents and mortgages. You think they are ridiculous now? Try looking at something crazy like $6,000/month for a broken down tiny 1 bedroom without an elevator!

Hoya, you and your ilk will be required to pay the Troll a tax to cross over the Beltway since you just love bilking the people so much. Put your own wallet where your mouth is!

[Frank Gallagher]

Isn't there DC sales tax on beer, restaurant food and hookers?

If MD & VA folk weren't coming to your shitty little town to eat and drink you'd be fucked...so you should thank them and blow them like your hookers do for keeping your city 'just' out of the third world.

Even your runny-catchy team moved out to the suburbs, and that was the only thing DC had to brag about.

[chaz]

Face it - DC needs the populations of MD and NOVA to survive.  You can talk about lost jobs to suburbanites all day long, but it's not like DC has a population that could even come close to staffing it...

That's true, but the populations of MD and NOVA need DC in order to have interesting lives.   For every 1 person on the internet saying "I'll take my business elsewhere," there are 100 who won't... and 9 out of 10 of the people who say that are just blowing smoke and aren't going anywhere.

Face it -- even in the worst of the Marion Barry years, MD and VA people continued to throng in here.   So the District asserting its right to not give non-taxpayers free amenities is not going to drive people away, other than a handful of cranks who believe it's their Constitutional right to have free stuff.

It's a well established rule that the amount of time people spend bitching on the internet about a particular issue is inversely proportional to the probability that they will actually do anything about it.

I don't think anyone here is saying they will take their business elsewhere.  Theres no action being proposed by me except to say that the policy outlined in the beginning of this thread is fucking STUPID and I think anyone who finds it to be reasonable is equally stupid, at least where this is concerned.

Does that include you?  I don't know.  You still have not weighed in on that.

[slappy]

seriously.  we were having a nice discussion here, and jagermeister shows up and start calling people nazis (thank you godwin).  apparently jag needs a few lessons in civility. 

oh, and:

...once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress.
(...)
It is generally perceived that falling foul of Godwin's law tends to end up causing the individual making the comparison to lose their argument and/or credibility...

So are Nazi cats part of Godwin's Law or a totally different law?

[Bags]

Question for the D.C. residents: Are you embarrassed by the people who run your city?

No, Virginia is as bad.  They troll apt complex parking lots, etc.  AND, if you have not filed proof with the state that you have moved, they try to collect state taxes from you.  Just did this to a friend who's been in SUDAN, IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN working for the state dept on behalf of our country for 8 years.  VA's put a lien on her for back taxes from 1999.  She hasn't lived in VA in over 12 years.  Once she started telling people, this has happened to others who end up just paying or settling.

Absofuckingabsurd.

They all do it.

[Bags]

By the way, this parking thing is ABSURD as well, absolutely.  That said, none of my VA friends who come visit me quite often, or come to the 9:30 Club, have ever gotten this pseudo-warning ticket thing.

The only two parking tix I've gotten in past 4 years were unjust -- they think you won't notice or fight it.

Oh, except for one I 'earned.'  You get a ticket if you have not REMOVED the previous year's registration tag in your windshield.  Completely bullshit revenue tool...

[Bags]

(Although I think they care less about the $10/year residential parking permit and more about the $72/year registration.)

Registration AND taxes on the car!  I don't think they care about residential permits at all.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

I don't think anyone here is saying they will take their business elsewhere.  Theres no action being proposed by me except to say that the policy outlined in the beginning of this thread is fucking STUPID and I think anyone who finds it to be reasonable is equally stupid, at least where this is concerned.

Does that include you?  I don't know.  You still have not weighed in on that.

I think it makes sense to try to nab people who are living here without registering, and one of the only ways to do that is to watch for cars that park here all the time.   Since GGW is the only person I have ever heard of so far who has experienced this, and he admitted that he parks here a lot, it seems reasonable.   If they were nabbing everybody who parked more than once in a 180 day period, that would be ridiculous.  

Beyond that, I am highly skeptical of the description of any regulation described on this board, especially with people like Jaguar around believing in lizard people and equating parking enforcement to Nazism.   So that's a second reason why I'm not too worried about this.

As for DC versus suburbs... as usual it is a false dichotomy.  in many suburban neighborhoods near bar areas, like Clarendon, you can't park on side streets at all if you don't live there.   All neighborhoods near bar/restaurant areas struggle with this same issue, regardless of locality, and the tendency is to favor the people who actually pay taxes there.

Finally, these type of restrictions are usually brought on by neighborhoods, not by lizard people or officials with aspirations of Nazism.  And it comes about because people get sick of coming home and finding no spaces on the street they're paying taxes for.

[wml7]

seriously.  we were having a nice discussion here, and jagermeister shows up and start calling people nazis (thank you godwin).  apparently jag needs a few lessons in civility. 

oh, and:

...once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically "lost" whatever debate was in progress.
(...)
It is generally perceived that falling foul of Godwin's law tends to end up causing the individual making the comparison to lose their argument and/or credibility...

So are Nazi cats part of Godwin's Law or a totally different law?

Ok, this one made me laugh 

[vansmack]

"Gee, honey. Things seem to be getting serious between us. Maybe we should take our relationship to the next phase. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'm going to apply for a 6 month non-resident parking exemption! That is, if you'll have me."

Please.

Any self-respecting man would make her go down and get the permit for him, you know, if she really wanted this relationship, then leave her after she does citing her lack of self respect. 

Repeat this cycle every 6 months.   

[Frank Gallagher]

I don't think anyone here is saying they will take their business elsewhere.  Theres no action being proposed by me except to say that the policy outlined in the beginning of this thread is fucking STUPID and I think anyone who finds it to be reasonable is equally stupid, at least where this is concerned.

Does that include you?  I don't know.  You still have not weighed in on that.

I think it makes sense to try to nab people who are living here without registering, and one of the only ways to do that is to watch for cars that park here all the time.   Since GGW is the only person I have ever heard of so far who has experienced this, and he admitted that he parks here a lot, it seems reasonable.   If they were nabbing everybody who parked more than once in a 180 day period, that would be ridiculous.  

Beyond that, I am highly skeptical of the description of any regulation described on this board, especially with people like Jaguar around believing in lizard people and equating parking enforcement to Nazism.   So that's a second reason why I'm not too worried about this.

As for DC versus suburbs... in many suburban neighborhoods near bar areas, like Clarendon, you can't park on side streets at all if you don't live there.

Finally, these type of restrictions are usually brought on by neighborhoods, not by lizard people or officials with aspirations of Nazism.  And it comes about because people get sick of coming home and finding no spaces on the street they're paying taxes for.

Huh?....equating parking enforecement to Nazism? I've never met a Rita the Meter Maid who wasn't a fucking Nazi....They are lower on the cop food chain than mall cops, and very bitter about it.