Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
Amsterdam unveiled far-reaching plans on Wednesday to rein in tourism, reflecting the dissatisfaction of many residents who feel the city's historic center has been overrun.
The leading Green-Left and other parties negotiating a new municipal government after March elections vowed to return "Balance to the City", in a document of that name seen by Reuters.
"The positive sides of tourism such as employment and city revenues are being more and more overshadowed by the negative consequences" including trash and noise pollution, the document said.
Changes the document outlines include curtailing "amusement transportation" such as multi-person "beer bikes"; cracking down on alcohol use in boats on the canals; further restricting AirBnB and other home rentals; and a large tax hike.
The plans announced on Wednesday also include creating an inventory of all commercial beds in the city to try to cap various sectors such as those on cruise ships and in hotels.
"I'm very happy that the city is now finally taking action, because residents have been asking for it for a very long time," said Bert Nap of neighborhood organization d'Oude Binnenstad, in the historic center.
"What I'm worried about is that this package of measures is so drastic that there will be a lot of lawsuits and political resistance, which will cost a lot of time."
Source: http://www.oann.com/bye-bye-beer-bike-amsterdam-determined-to-tame-tourism/
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Saturday May 19 2018, @08:44PM (8 children)
Yeah, the tax hike!!! Because just passing a law getting rid of nuisances isn't enough.
The recipe (perfected in Seattle) is something like this:
Turn a blind eye (if not outright encourage) excesses
Attract a lot of tourists,
Allow the Gig economy to grow out of control with unsustainable "employment"
Rent Increases will force Gig-ers out on the streets.
Wait till citizens bitch.
Promise some minimal reforms.
RAISE TAXES.
Rinse, Repeat.
Bonus points if you can raise taxes in a job killing way, like head-taxes on Jobs.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 19 2018, @09:36PM (3 children)
Obviously, passing a law getting rid of one revenue stream means extracting money from someone else instead. Literally, "residents have been asking for it for a very long time". :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 19 2018, @11:07PM (2 children)
At least some of that tax money goes to maintain the streets and other infrastructure. While some (in every city I know about) is going to graft and other "waste", a good bit does go toward things that are generally good for everyone in the city.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by khallow on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:56AM
It is rare for evil to be completely without good. Genghis Khan was great for public order. Adolf Hitler was an outspoken supporter of personal fitness and public health initiatives. Maintaining streets doesn't excuse the corrupt games city governments often play.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @06:59PM
oh good. i was hoping some kindly slave would come to the defense of the leaches in government. you just don't see enough of that these days.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by requerdanos on Saturday May 19 2018, @10:05PM (3 children)
Economy- (and therefore job-) killing taxes are pretty much the only kind, which is why they must be used with care. No macroeconomic system has ever taxed itself out of unemployment and into prosperity, despite many promising attempts.
(Score: 2) by dry on Monday May 21 2018, @12:43AM (2 children)
Sure they have, just combine with war. An example is America after the depression and through to the late '60's and later.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @02:06PM (1 child)
Problem, you gotta win the war.
(Score: 2) by dry on Monday May 21 2018, @03:02PM
Well, at least not lose the war. A stalemate might be perfect as it can go on forever.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Saturday May 19 2018, @10:00PM (2 children)
Didn't young Anakin bring "Balance to the Force"?
It was not all it's cracked up to be.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday May 19 2018, @10:11PM (1 child)
That happened in a galaxy far far away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @01:22AM
Rian Johnson and The Last Jedi retconned all that, who knew the resistance in Star Wars was a bunch of SJW assholes and the Empire were the good guys? Even the smoothest guy in the galaxy is now a "pansexual" sodomite according to the latest shit-fest. [theguardian.com]
It's only when viewed in this context that Luke's character arc makes sense, of course he's not fighting for a bunch of narcissistic millennials. He'd side with the Empire every time rather than fight for intersectional, gender-fluid, obnoxious communist retards. We all would.
(Score: 4, Informative) by requerdanos on Saturday May 19 2018, @10:20PM (3 children)
Isn't any vacation trip accomplished by means of amusement transportation? But "Beer Bikes" [ytimg.com] sounds so interesting I had to look it up.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday May 20 2018, @05:39AM (2 children)
That's one cool bike! I sure would not vote against such a thing - just so long as they were courteous enough with the thing to not plug up traffic with it.
It looks to me like an ideal way for social groups to travel together and have a place to temporarily stash their stuff when put-putting around taking in the scenery.
Tourists? Well, I live pretty close to Disneyland. The tourists fund a lot of restaurants and social spots that our area would normally be incapable of financially supporting. They keep a lot of our young people employed as well... so even though I don't go to Disneyland very often, I am against most anything that would negatively impact Disneyland.
They bring in millions of dollars into the surrounding businesses. This would be a drab area without them.
Amsterdam: Cherish your tourists and be happy people will pay thousands of dollars just to visit. Not many places have that honor.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @11:46AM (1 child)
Some places are getting a bit too much of that honour. I live in Amsterdam. Tourism seems to be ever increasing and nowadays the crowds often reach a density that just makes me want to flee. I like tourists to enjoy my town, but I also want to be able enjoy it myself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @07:05PM
no. you need to move and/or the precious government needs to start encouraging separation of the two concerns. tourist area and long term residential zone and ner the twain shall meet. instead these goof balls want to try to screw everybody. screw the tourists with more rules and pigs. screw the residents with more taxes and minimal impact on the unsightly hordes of drunkards. you can't have peace and quiet in an amusement park. rules or not...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 19 2018, @11:14PM (3 children)
A recent article http://new.newschinamag.com/newschina/articleDetail.do?article_id=3557 [newschinamag.com] points out that Chinese tourists are not on the economy tours anymore, they are going solo and in small groups and they are going everywhere. Good luck to Amsterdam slowing down the tide.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:15AM (2 children)
Given that the Chinese aren't that good of holding their liquor (most of them transform it quickly in acetaldehyde), I think the ban on beer-bikes won't have too much an impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:24AM (1 child)
It'll be worse if they have to ride their own bikes drunk now.
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:33AM
Nitpicking, but I think you mean "flushed" [wikipedia.org].
Alcohol and acetaldehyde give two different reactions on the human physiology (still, you can classify both effects as intoxication)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @09:19AM (1 child)
Residents say they are being overrun by outsiders? How dare they oppose diversity! We need to send antifa to punch those nazis right away!
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Sunday May 20 2018, @09:45AM
They probably meant it in a literal sense, since Amsterdam is about as diverse as London or New York.
Drunk student frat clubs and English stag parties, not looking where they cycle their beer bike, running over pedestrians and cyclists that don't get out of the way fast enough, blocking the roads (those beer bikes are very wide and long, accomodate about a dozen people I'd say).
It's driven by all of them, so they can always blame each other: "sorry old lady! it wasn't me, it was this other guy, he was drunk! here, have a beer!"
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:37PM (1 child)
I would take it that my situation with Disneyland is like yours in your own city, albeit its only the SouthEast portion of Anaheim I have to avoid. I can very rarely enjoy Disneyland. Its flat overrun with tourists.
I used to go there during the Winter months, and it was quite pleasurable, but no more... its packed in there. They keep raising admission fees, and the tourists keep a comin'.
But, if it wasn't for tourists, Disneyland would not be there. That place is *expensive*, but it costs far more to run that place than the locals would come up with.
And they hire most of our kids, and a lot of other townsfolk. Those Disney did not hire find jobs at all sorts of other tourist-oriented businesses that feed on the scraps - and there is lots of scraps to be had. Because a Disney meal is not an inexpensive meal, by a long shot. If one's kids shanghai'd the family to go, the choice of restaurants could save a family hundreds of dollars over a few days.
I understand your feel for having crowds around... too much is simply too much, and everywhere becomes the "Line King" ... everybody standing in line somewhere.
But then, we locals know where the holes in the wall are - I won't go West if I can... that heads me straight to Disney ... nah, I go East and get out of the way... we have some nice buffets and eateries well off the beaten path that the tourists aren't onto yet... and not tourist prices either. And somewhere to park!
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 20 2018, @12:38PM
Dammit, I hit the wrong reply button again...
(Score: 2) by cafebabe on Monday May 21 2018, @07:33PM
I worked in hydroponics. My ex-boss went to Amsterdam frequently on "business". He said that the most ridiculous thing he saw was a stretch limo doing a 17-point turn. A stretch limousine is not suited to the small streets of Amsterdam.
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