Live data from Hacker News

Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

economist.com

31–40 of 206 posts

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#31
post #19
post #10

What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat. They can just BUY the city government they want. Instead, they are shoving mountains of cash to turn the United States into some perverted libertarian fantasy, where the government is weak, paralyzed, ineffectual, and out of their way OH WAIT.

Do you think any "valley gazillionaires" are living in the tenderloin?

Of course not, I was going to say that, actually - they live on protected, isolated compounds. Logically they should not care about what is happening elsewhere, right? But they do, just not the stuff in their backyard. There are woke people in New York, you see! And they are the real concern.

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#33

Make housing affordable with denser mixed-use zoning: You solved 50% of the problem. Make public transport convenient. You solved another 30%. People needs to be able to stay frugal in rough times and socialize. It feels to me that many US cities make this impossible. If you had Spain levels of unemployment I have no idea how would you do.

Let's ignore that almost 100% of the homeless population in America is addicted to drugs. Having experienced drug abuse myself I know for a fact affordable housing is not going to do anything for these folks. They need treatment, and that unfortunately doesn't happen voluntarily when you are sick.

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#34
post #11

I wish I could pay 2$ to read the article by clicking a button on an independent service, instead of giving all my info and signing up to a subscription which is probably a nightmare to cancel. Sigh.

Why do you think newspapers/magazines don’t allow people to pay per article (obviously at a steep markup to subscription)? Do you think it’s because they’re afraid of cannibalizing their revenue?

My personal theory is that it's a cross of two or three things:

1. They don't want to know or admit the articles that are "worth paying for"

2. They know that hardly anyone would pay

3. Advertisers only care about subscription numbers

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#35
post #10

What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat. They can just BUY the city government they want. Instead, they are shoving mountains of cash to turn the United States into some perverted libertarian fantasy, where the government is weak, paralyzed, ineffectual, and out of their way OH WAIT.

What politicien in this country want a strong, in your face government ? I would like to vote for that person.

Because all I saw so far, including far away from CA, is what you are describing as a valley phénomène.

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why one party rule is bad.

Just look at the bottom ten states for any measurable statistic people care about. Healthcare outcomes, standard of living, GDP per Capita, poverty, educational attainment, obesity, etc. All deep dark red.

Exactly. One party rule is bad. The failurs of the GOP to put up viable local candidates in SF and the the Democrats in deep red states are not good for the health of the country

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#37
post #10

What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat. They can just BUY the city government they want. Instead, they are shoving mountains of cash to turn the United States into some perverted libertarian fantasy, where the government is weak, paralyzed, ineffectual, and out of their way OH WAIT.

> What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat

The habitat of the gazillionaires is not the same as the habitat of the people experiencing the issues facing the city. In order to become a gazillionaire, you need to be at least a bit selfish, so if you're selfish, why would you spend your money fixing other peoples habitat?

Re: Downtown San Francisco is at a tipping-point

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why one party rule is bad.

Just look at the bottom ten states for any measurable statistic people care about. Healthcare outcomes, standard of living, GDP per Capita, poverty, educational attainment, obesity, etc. All deep dark red.

You're not going to find open-air downtown drug markets, public defecation and decriminalized theft in Mississippi or Arkansas. For that, you need to visit one of our progressive West Coast cities.
Post reply on HN