I agree, but the what else is that property taxes are often the largest source of income for a city budget, if not the sole source, so everything that goes into running a city; road maintenance and police usually make the top.
> Can't you do it for like 5-10 $ yourself? If you don't have any tools, maybe spend 20 $ for tools? The author even says he replaced his own faucet - I don't get it at all.
Labour would be free as long as you can't spend that time earning more money or doing something you'd prefer instead of replacing a faucet, but like any other product they can be anywhere between $0 and much more than $185. I personally don't value faucets that much, but if I were replacing one, I don't see why I'd get a crappy one.
> I could've likely flown to the US, cut down your trees for a few hundred and flown back home for that much money. Why so expensive? I'm beginning to question the other numbers.
There's not enough information to make a coherent judgment, but assuming the tree is a rather large one, why would you? If someone said to me "I'll give you $400 to fly to Europe and cut down a large tree that's too close to someone's house without causing any damage and you must bring your own equipment, dispose of the tree, etc.." I sure as hell would not take that offer, especially if I knew how.
The surprising amounts are the point of the article; home ownership is excessively expensive, and if you don't value these things highly enough to either DIY or hire someone to take care of it, it's probably not worth buying one. That's why I'm happy to rent, I don't give a damn shit about any of that and would rather light my hair on fire than volunteer for these burdens, unless I was rich enough to not need to be concerned at all. The same could be said about the house itself; in my city, a house like this would cost around $2m USD just for the privilege of doing all this other bullshit for eons.
That said, your line of reasoning seems akin to the old "why spend thousands on a macbook, I could build a PC for half (which isn't true anymore)" or stubbornly using some ancient piece of trash for your whole career even though you can afford something good. Quality work and good/better tools are worth investing in if you value them or their output. I could use a garden hose and a bucket to shower everyday and live in a cave too. Luxuries are when you get into pointless spending territory, where you're just spending wild amounts more than necessary to achieve the outcomes you want in the timeframe you want.
