The Rent is Too Damn High revisited, Super Zips and Basecamp

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/20/let-coronavirus-break-up-super-zips/

I rarely find an opinion piece that fully aligns with my thinking and preferences. This one is the closest I have seen in a while. And it has relevant examples!

“The project management software company Basecamp is headquartered in Chicago, but it allows its employees to work from anywhere while paying them a rate that would put them in the top 10 percent of San Franciscans, regardless. Can you imagine what those wages can buy in northern Maine? Unsurprisingly, Basecamp boasts remarkably high retention rates and a happy workforce.”

Instead of making employees pay massive rent, companies could pay the other kind of rent (higher than prevalent wages). Win win!

OK, I grew up in Seattle. All these people moving to other parts of the country will probably piss off the locals by driving up real estate prices. I know how this works.

Bathrooms and the New Normal

This afternoon, Fairfax County announced that the county run summer camps are canceled. That could change, but they had been letting people register for a lot of them right up until yesterday; this is a pretty big change. Their parks are open, but not the facilities or restrooms. My sister loves to swim, but the pools are closed; she is looking forward to them opening with no changing rooms or restrooms. I find that a bit implausible.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-reopen-bathrooms/2020/05/18/a6ed57fc-93ba-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html

This WaPo article is about a related issue: if you have to leave your house, where can you use the loo? You cannot go into the WC at Dunks any more, or anywhere else for that matter.

The Fairfax county rec summer camps are largely run at the county elementary schools. My sister suspects they need to have the schools empty to prepare them for the return in the fall, and maybe they need to do some things to change things around to support that. I do not know. Are they going to redo the HVAC? That would seem most important, followed by something to do with the plumbing, altho it is hard to imagine what would be adequate.

To some degree, these are real concerns (bye, bye electric hand dryers, apparently!) (and wow, the toilet flume) (never forget Amoy Gardens). If we get a vaccine quickly, it would be loony to redesign everything to dedensify. But honestly, upping the bathroom quality is NOT wasted effort!