[eesmith]

Or is it arguing the brown M&M provision - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-out/ ?

> The M&Ms provision was included in Van Halen’s contracts not as an act of caprice, but because it served a practical purpose: to provide a simple way of determining whether the technical specifications of the contract had been thoroughly read and complied with.

Or is it arguing the canary in the coal mine (a sentinel species which is affected by too-high carbon monoxide levels before humans are, giving miners a warning signal)?

Personally, I don't think the BWT analogy is the right one given how BWT is so strongly coupled to funding the police - even in its original non-zero tolerance version - and the well-known racism in its real-world application in NYC. You can see from your quote the lack of consideration of non-policing methods to target vandalism, public drinking and fare evasion.

Eg, pay for more sanitation and cleaning crews to fix vandalism, change the laws to keep cops from being the subsidized security force for abandoned buildings, restore public health services to help the homeless (one I've read about is to create supervised "flop house", that is, very cheap and basic housing where addicts and drunks have safer place to drink), and support mechanisms like raised minimum wages, increased unionization, or basic income which help people have the money to pay for the subway fare and an increased desire to maintain the current social system.