Just to add an anecdotal example, I used to live in a condo complex where each building contained 10 units which all shared one master meter. Instead of each unit having it’s own water meter all 10 units would be billed as one. Functionally it didn’t matter because the water bill for all the buildings was paid by the HOA through our HOA dues which were fixed at $185 per month.
Shortly before I moved the HOA was having significant issues with the water bill because while most buildings had a monthly bill of ~$600 (or $60 average per unit) two buildings had a monthly water bill of ~$2500 per month (or $250 average per unit). The HOA had had the city come out twice to look for exterior leaks and had paid three different plumbers to check for internal leaks, but either they couldn’t find one or simply there wasn’t one.
If we assume that there was no leak, and the average per unit water usage should be $60, and only one unit was spiking the water usage that would mean one unit was using $1960 per month of water.
I later heard from people I knew there that the HOA had found one unit was being rented to a family with 10 people in a 2 bedroom who was also running an illegal restaurant from the unit (as in people were coming up to the front window and buying styrofoam trays of food to go).
I don’t hate the hustle or people trying to get by, but I’ve absolutely have seen situations where people getting something for free means they over use it.
They weren’t over using it because it was free, though, that’s the thing. They were using it for a legitimate purpose: feeding others and supporting themselves financially. They didn’t choose how the complex handled billing for water, and people like this will usually happily pay their fair share given the opportunity. We as a society act like people cramming their ten person family into a two bedroom apartment are the ones taking advantage of the system when it’s 1000% the other way around.
and people like this will usually happily pay their fair share given the opportunity.
That’s speculation at best. People cramming 10 people into a 2 person home isn’t taking advantage of a system, but using 32x more water than the average user is. They were running this business out of their home without required health and safety inspections, it was in violation of the HOA rules, and almost certainly in violation of the terms of their lease. After I left, the HOA put in sub-metering so each unit did have to pay their own water bill.
Your argument is that most people are willing to do things the right way if they have the opportunity, but clearly they couldn’t have made this happen legitimately or else they would have rented a business location or started a food truck. It’s not excusable to do things the wrong way and benefit because if you had done it the right way you wouldn’t have benefited.
It’s like if I said, “I only ran this profitable illegal business because if I had done it legally it wouldn’t be profitable. Yeah, I lack the opportunities in life (like a rich family) to have done this legitimately so that totally excuses me taking advantage of my neighbors.”
I’m all for saying fuck corporations, but this is just hurting your direct neighbors and breaking health and safety laws that are meant to keep people safe.
I mean that’s what you’re doing, too. That’s part of having a conversation. There are statistics that back my speculation, but at the end of the day we’re discussing strangers.
That being said, people making the best of their situation are never taking advantage of a system, especially a system designed specifically to keep them down. You think they’re crammed into that condo, five to a bedroom, by choice?
The 32x water usage is nothing compared to what corporations take from us every second of every minute of every day when they’re actually taking advantage of the system. This family is, again, feeding people and simply trying to survive. The system wants you to condemn the family of immigrants rather than the single billionaires taking exponentially more from each of us and doing exponentially more damage. And that’s not speculation, that’s how it is.
And they should have had individual meters in the first place, so let’s not act like that’s the consequence of some grave injustice, either. Would have prevented the whole issue in the first place.
Just to add an anecdotal example, I used to live in a condo complex where each building contained 10 units which all shared one master meter. Instead of each unit having it’s own water meter all 10 units would be billed as one. Functionally it didn’t matter because the water bill for all the buildings was paid by the HOA through our HOA dues which were fixed at $185 per month.
Shortly before I moved the HOA was having significant issues with the water bill because while most buildings had a monthly bill of ~$600 (or $60 average per unit) two buildings had a monthly water bill of ~$2500 per month (or $250 average per unit). The HOA had had the city come out twice to look for exterior leaks and had paid three different plumbers to check for internal leaks, but either they couldn’t find one or simply there wasn’t one.
If we assume that there was no leak, and the average per unit water usage should be $60, and only one unit was spiking the water usage that would mean one unit was using $1960 per month of water.
I later heard from people I knew there that the HOA had found one unit was being rented to a family with 10 people in a 2 bedroom who was also running an illegal restaurant from the unit (as in people were coming up to the front window and buying styrofoam trays of food to go).
I don’t hate the hustle or people trying to get by, but I’ve absolutely have seen situations where people getting something for free means they over use it.
They weren’t over using it because it was free, though, that’s the thing. They were using it for a legitimate purpose: feeding others and supporting themselves financially. They didn’t choose how the complex handled billing for water, and people like this will usually happily pay their fair share given the opportunity. We as a society act like people cramming their ten person family into a two bedroom apartment are the ones taking advantage of the system when it’s 1000% the other way around.
That’s speculation at best. People cramming 10 people into a 2 person home isn’t taking advantage of a system, but using 32x more water than the average user is. They were running this business out of their home without required health and safety inspections, it was in violation of the HOA rules, and almost certainly in violation of the terms of their lease. After I left, the HOA put in sub-metering so each unit did have to pay their own water bill.
Your argument is that most people are willing to do things the right way if they have the opportunity, but clearly they couldn’t have made this happen legitimately or else they would have rented a business location or started a food truck. It’s not excusable to do things the wrong way and benefit because if you had done it the right way you wouldn’t have benefited.
It’s like if I said, “I only ran this profitable illegal business because if I had done it legally it wouldn’t be profitable. Yeah, I lack the opportunities in life (like a rich family) to have done this legitimately so that totally excuses me taking advantage of my neighbors.”
I’m all for saying fuck corporations, but this is just hurting your direct neighbors and breaking health and safety laws that are meant to keep people safe.
I mean that’s what you’re doing, too. That’s part of having a conversation. There are statistics that back my speculation, but at the end of the day we’re discussing strangers.
That being said, people making the best of their situation are never taking advantage of a system, especially a system designed specifically to keep them down. You think they’re crammed into that condo, five to a bedroom, by choice? The 32x water usage is nothing compared to what corporations take from us every second of every minute of every day when they’re actually taking advantage of the system. This family is, again, feeding people and simply trying to survive. The system wants you to condemn the family of immigrants rather than the single billionaires taking exponentially more from each of us and doing exponentially more damage. And that’s not speculation, that’s how it is. And they should have had individual meters in the first place, so let’s not act like that’s the consequence of some grave injustice, either. Would have prevented the whole issue in the first place.