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In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

nytimes.com

11–20 of 101 posts

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#11
When I lived in SF, the categorical hate towards tech workers (I was not a tech worker back then) was nothing like "mainstream". It was just a few extremists, a few protesters I might see in the news. I didn't actually know anyone like that. Journalists made it sound like a bigger thing than it was.

It's been over 3 years though. Has the anti-tech-worker hate really gone mainstream or are journalists continuing to inflate it?

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#12

San Francisco is one massive "tech slowdown" (although I suppose more like a tech collapse, given the baseline level of employment further down in Silicon Valley) from turning into Detroit-on-the-Bay.

As long as the weather doesn't change, SF will be fine.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#13
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How's that? They seemed to be OK before the crazy upswing.

Because that was before, obviously. Too much of the city relies on the tech economy now - the restaurants, the lyft/uber drivers, the building contractors, the dog walkers, the private school teachers.

But it transitioned towards a reliance on tech before now, there's nothing to suggest it cannot transition away to something else.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#14
post #4

I think people will be shocked by how little housing prices decrease if the startup economy experiences a downturn.

Absolutely. Housing prices are like wages: very "sticky." Nobody wants to ever sell a house at a loss or drop their rent, so housing will sit idle on the market rather than take a write-down.

The only way housing could conceivably fall (without intense depression-level pain) is if the entire rest of the economy inflated such that housing was reasonable. Everyone would be making six figures, a gallon of gas would be $6, a loaf of bread over $10, but housing would be reasonable again.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#15
post #4

I think people will be shocked by how little housing prices decrease if the startup economy experiences a downturn.

Now if China continues to slow down and can manage capital controls better, then you're going to see housing fall back to Earth a bit.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#16
post #14
post #4

I think people will be shocked by how little housing prices decrease if the startup economy experiences a downturn.

Absolutely. Housing prices are like wages: very "sticky." Nobody wants to ever sell a house at a loss or drop their rent, so housing will sit idle on the market rather than take a write-down. The only way housing could conceivably fall (without intense depression-level pain) is if the entire rest of the economy inflated such that housing was reasonable. Everyone would be making six figures, a gallon of gas would be $…

> Absolutely. Housing prices are like wages: very "sticky." Nobody wants to ever sell a house at a loss or drop their rent, so housing will sit idle on the market rather than take a write-down.

Depends on how financially solvent you are to manage the upkeep (Principle, interest, prop tax, insurance) if your wages drop or you lose your job.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#17
One of the interesting side-effects of Sen. Fienstien's quest to keep high-rises out of San Francisco is that _all_ real estate is more expensive. There are many people here with similarly narrow ideas about how to protect what is "theirs."

A great example would be the people who throw rocks at Google busses. Everyone on that buss can afford a car and would drive to work alone (maybe carpool) if they didn't have the busses to reduce congestion.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#18

The non-tech parts of this town will be devastated by a tech slowdown. Absolutely destroyed.

Strangely enough, San Francisco was thriving 100 years before the computer chip even existed.

Don't overestimate your importance. The world will move on without you.

Re: In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Slowdown

#19

One of the interesting side-effects of Sen. Fienstien's quest to keep high-rises out of San Francisco is that _all_ real estate is more expensive. There are many people here with similarly narrow ideas about how to protect what is "theirs." A great example would be the people who throw rocks at Google busses. Everyone on that buss can afford a car and would drive to work alone (maybe carpool) if they didn't have the…

A better example is the Police who didn't arrest and prosecute the rock-throwers for "assault with a deadly weapon." They're also part of the problem.
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