I don't know to what extent there are established precedents for when a topic is worthy of a mega-thread, but this decision seems like a big deal to me with a lot to discuss, so I'm putting this thread here as a place for discussion. If nobody agrees then I guess they just won't comment.
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Notes -
I didn't literally mean the apartment you live in. I meant the neighborhood/city/region/state/country (I was purposefully vague about the scope).
You're talking about things that affect you. Of course you care about the condition of your literal apartment when you can force the landlord to fix it free of charge. But people passing through generally aren't lobbying for long-term infrastructure improvements of the town.
I don't know if that's necessarily true, though. Places like New York City have a lot of long-term renters. On the other side of the coin, a lot of the poorest ghettos have long-term renters who won't leave the neighborhood unless rising prices force them out. Conversely, it's trendy on the east coast for outdoorsy types to move out west for a few years just to see what it's like. Sure, some of these people rent, and some of them stay long-term, but a surprisingly large number of them buy houses and sell them a few years later. When interest rates were low anyone with the cash on hand would buy, and a lot of people made out like bandits when they sold a few years later and bought less expensive houses back east with cash.
The other thing is that most people aren't particularly engaged politically, regardless of whether they buy or rent. When was the last time you attended a meeting of your local government? Unlike watching C-Span you can actually address the board, and they might take your opinion into consideration. They also almost always happen in the evening, except maybe in big cities with full-time politicians. I've attended several over the years for various reasons. They're only ever busy if there's some controversial item on the agenda, and even then it's rarely busier than a busy voting precinct. On an average night, there's usually only one or two spectators.
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