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Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

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11–20 of 53 posts

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#11
post #3

I don't understand these arguments much. They sound more like sour grapes to some extent: If tech had not begun and become the powerhouse it did would the people who lived there have been better off in real terms? There is no reason that it couldn't have remained farmland like the Imperial valley. Ok, Oakland would still be a port and SF would be a financial hub. But most of the industry that thrived till the 70s, we…

What are the real terms of being better off?

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#12
post #2

This is like complaining of unequal vehicles at an airport: A relatively few can fly very fast and hold hundreds of passengers, but most are earthbound-bound and can carry only a few passengers. Of course Silicon Valley has inequality: it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth. Hobbling these people will do nothing to help the poor, just like crippling airliners will not improve the cars in airports par…

What a bizarre comparison.

That's a very weak criticism. I think his analogy was fairly clear in what it was saying. "Bizarre" seems to mean "I don't like what it implied." But why bother to tell us that? Tell us why you don't like it. Better, give us a reason why you think it's wrong.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#13
I visited San Jose Diridon station. It was surrounded by parking lots. It was amazing to me that a train station with connections south and north to both San Francisco and Oakland is a desolate wasteland of parking lots devoid of people. If this happened in another country, the city planners would be voted out of office or disappeared.

That place should be full of 5-10 story buildings bustling with offices, shopping, and apartments/condos. California is urinating away so much potential.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#14
post #13

I visited San Jose Diridon station. It was surrounded by parking lots. It was amazing to me that a train station with connections south and north to both San Francisco and Oakland is a desolate wasteland of parking lots devoid of people. If this happened in another country, the city planners would be voted out of office or disappeared. That place should be full of 5-10 story buildings bustling with offices, shopping,…

Also, it is embarrassing that San Jose International airport does not even have a rail connection. Even second tier cities overseas make sure to have rail connections for foreign visitors who probably don't have a driver's license.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#15
post #2

This is like complaining of unequal vehicles at an airport: A relatively few can fly very fast and hold hundreds of passengers, but most are earthbound-bound and can carry only a few passengers. Of course Silicon Valley has inequality: it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth. Hobbling these people will do nothing to help the poor, just like crippling airliners will not improve the cars in airports par…

I have seen poverty in a lot of places, and huge contrasts of wealth, but never the disparity I saw in SF. I’m talking about a Lamborghini parked next to a person lying on the floor, with no shoes, marred in their own excrements. It is crazy.

> Hobbling these people will do nothing to help the poor

There’s no one left to “hobble”.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#16
post #4
post #3

I don't understand these arguments much. They sound more like sour grapes to some extent: If tech had not begun and become the powerhouse it did would the people who lived there have been better off in real terms? There is no reason that it couldn't have remained farmland like the Imperial valley. Ok, Oakland would still be a port and SF would be a financial hub. But most of the industry that thrived till the 70s, we…

> If tech had not begun and become the powerhouse it did would the people who lived there have been better off in real terms? > Admittedly housing would be cheaper Housing is the largest expense for most people, so yes, they would have been better off, because housing would be affordable. Even software engineers consider housing there to be absurdly expensive.

If only there was a way to create new housing in California.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#17
post #13

I visited San Jose Diridon station. It was surrounded by parking lots. It was amazing to me that a train station with connections south and north to both San Francisco and Oakland is a desolate wasteland of parking lots devoid of people. If this happened in another country, the city planners would be voted out of office or disappeared. That place should be full of 5-10 story buildings bustling with offices, shopping,…

The US is the wild west and always will be. We are fundamentally a country that loves big desolate places that require rugged individualism to navigate. You can argue that there are pockets where this isn’t true, but I lived in post 9/11 NYC to see the worst pathologies of suburbanism creeping into Manhattan. The few real human scale areas (downtown,fidi) become disneyfied and overwhelmed. I have found it easier to embrace this reality than deny it.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#18
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If tech had not begun and become the powerhouse it did would the people who lived there have been better off in real terms? > Admittedly housing would be cheaper Housing is the largest expense for most people, so yes, they would have been better off, because housing would be affordable. Even software engineers consider housing there to be absurdly expensive.

If only there was a way to create new housing in California.

Or if only there was housing outside of California.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#19
post #2

This is like complaining of unequal vehicles at an airport: A relatively few can fly very fast and hold hundreds of passengers, but most are earthbound-bound and can carry only a few passengers. Of course Silicon Valley has inequality: it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth. Hobbling these people will do nothing to help the poor, just like crippling airliners will not improve the cars in airports par…

This is one of the most disgusting things I've read in a long, long time.

> it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth.

It's home to some of the most entitled jerkoffs on earth. This website needs to call out this rhetoric, because it's riddled with self-congratulatory garbage.

Go ahead and flag me or downvote my comment, but I really can't believe what I'm reading here sometimes.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Vast Wealth Disparity Deepens as Poverty Increased

#20
post #2

This is like complaining of unequal vehicles at an airport: A relatively few can fly very fast and hold hundreds of passengers, but most are earthbound-bound and can carry only a few passengers. Of course Silicon Valley has inequality: it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth. Hobbling these people will do nothing to help the poor, just like crippling airliners will not improve the cars in airports par…

This is one of the most disgusting things I've read in a long, long time. > it’s home to some of the most impactful people on earth. It's home to some of the most entitled jerkoffs on earth. This website needs to call out this rhetoric, because it's riddled with self-congratulatory garbage. Go ahead and flag me or downvote my comment, but I really can't believe what I'm reading here sometimes.

You are on a website focused on tech startups. The people who succeed at tech startups become absurdly rich. I’m in agreement with the parent commenter that hobbling the superstars to give more to poor people is the wrong move. I’m disgusted that people disagree with me, but I also understand why most people remain poor.
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