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San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

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81–90 of 229 posts

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#81
post #24
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A great history professor I had at university was very interested in California politics. His take after years of research was that the thing holding California back is Prop 13, which has to do with taxation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13 Dear HNers, please note: I understand Prop 13 is hugely controversial and the "third rail" of California politics. I don't have a dog in this fight, I…

If you're a new California homeowner, I recommend you never look up what others on your street pay in property tax.

I wonder how many of the non business properties are still under Prop 13? I can't imagine it would be that many at this point. Business property can probably be held in some sort of trust so it appears to never have changed hands over the years.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#82
post #29

You're seeing this everywhere. Chicago, Philadelphia, and so on - although the problem may be worse in San Francisco. Cities are struggling in the post-pandemic era as the rising cost of living due to inflation in food and other essentials has driven more criminal activity, mostly around theft. This is happening at the same time where many cities are also trying more progressive, reform-based approaches to policing a…

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Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't put SF in the great cities list. Maybe it had something back in the 80's or 90's - it's own charm or soul. But for the past 15 year's it's slowly turned into a soulless, charmless, no character city where everyone is in tech and thinks the same. I may be in the miniority on this site - but frankly I think it's sucked for a while now. I've had much better times in other big cities worldwide.

The minority you point out is an ever shrinking one. I remember coming close to a decade ago when I'd be chastised for suggesting that SF is dumpy because there's human poop, bins overflowing with rotten food waste, large packs of rats, and junkies sniffing lines in broad daylight all over the place there, but today few here will deny this anymore. I want to love SF, and I'm not just saying that. Yet, every time I vi…

The poop is just spread out so you don't notice it any given place you happen to be, because LA is bigger. Much bigger.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be stopping people from taking the aid and stealing the scooters anyway? You can only rely so much on the inherent goodness of humans. Add organized crime into the mix and you run into the problem that might makes right for plenty of people, specially if there's easy money and "respect" involved.

What is driving people to steal the scooters if not the need to pay for food and housing?

Greed and selfishness are common human flaws, and that's just thinking of individual petty thieves; ambitious, enterprising and ruthless criminals are apt to see business and power they can secure if they are unopposed.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#85
post #29

You're seeing this everywhere. Chicago, Philadelphia, and so on - although the problem may be worse in San Francisco. Cities are struggling in the post-pandemic era as the rising cost of living due to inflation in food and other essentials has driven more criminal activity, mostly around theft. This is happening at the same time where many cities are also trying more progressive, reform-based approaches to policing a…

A lot of city residents need to come to terms with the fact that some of these progressive criminal justice reforms may need to be adjusted a bit, given that we now have years of evidence of their effects. And/or: We need to make affordable housing available, make a car-optional lifestyle more viable, etc. "The beatings shall continue until morale improves" isn't an effective approach to anything, especially since if…

The long term strategies you suggest almost certainly are the long-term answer. But that's just it, those solutions may take years. San Francisco may not last that long.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cities are struggling in the post-pandemic era as the rising cost of living due to inflation in food and other essentials has driven more criminal activity Wouldn't it make more sense and be potentially more cost effective if the focus was on giving people food and other essentials so they could survive without having to steal scooters? Police and prison are super expensive. You're going to be paying for the food,…

It seems to be an unfortunate truth that private, for-profit prisons are the opposite of expensive.

Are there any publicly traded pure-play prison companies? Not interested in investing, but would be fascinated to read their 10-Ks. Do they get significant revenue from anywhere other than taxpayers? I know they sell labor and charge for phone calls, but that can't add up to terribly much more than their food + supply costs.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be stopping people from taking the aid and stealing the scooters anyway? You can only rely so much on the inherent goodness of humans. Add organized crime into the mix and you run into the problem that might makes right for plenty of people, specially if there's easy money and "respect" involved.

What is driving people to steal the scooters if not the need to pay for food and housing?

A desire for luxuries, and a disregard for other people.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#88
Outrage over current circumstances is pervasive in the City. Had this guy not been so buried in his work then he probably would have noticed that. This situation is not something trivial, but took an accumulation of factors over a long period of time to bring about. The pandemic had a huge impact on areas and demographics that were already under major stress.

People encountering this problem seem to think that simply cranking up enforcement and making the justice system more consistent will fix all of this. Many often conveniently forget the long history of tension between enforcement and minorities in the city. The White Night riots of 1979 were less than fifty years ago and violent sweeps of the Castro happened as recently as 1989. People want enforcement and justice but historically that has meant occasionally getting your streets closed and your face bashed in by cops with zero accountability.

Maybe there is some middle ground? People seem anxious to make something work. And there is a potentially interesting example in San Mateo County just to the south. Social circumstances there are not that far off from San Francisco and there is also a big homeless population, but the rampant extremes have not erupted in the same way. But real progress will probably take something more than lashing out over a stolen scooter. It is interesting how many people are upset about these issues but wouldn't even consider attending a local council meeting let alone running for local office themselves. No matter how much you desire justice, it probably isn't going to be quickly delivered to your door for a modest fee like it is a meal or something.

Re: San Francisco: An Elitist Bubble Ignoring a Crime Epidemic?

#89

> The Tenderloin is bad, and I had my scooter stolen Is there anything worth blogging about here? The linked article is more interesting. This person spent a few weekends in SF a decade ago and doesn't recognize their "once-beloved city".

This is entirely how I remember SF being 10 years ago as well. I don’t doubt that the pandemic has been hard on all cities, but I agree that the author is making a big assumption based on a tiny sample.

SF is so much worse than it was 10 years ago. 10 years ago you could still find people that haven't had their car windows smashed. These days I doubt you'll find someone that hasn't had their car windows smashed less than several times.
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