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The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

benparr.com

21–30 of 56 posts

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#21
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, having talked with a number of homeless folks and done outreach with our Church, a significant portion stay for the weather. Seriously, it just doesn't get too hot or too cold when you're living outside here so you're pretty much ok even if you have to just sleep in your clothes one night. I talked to a guy who had walked here from Utah spending time across the northern Nevada and some in Central California…

Suggestions on how we could pull that off are welcome. That's the problem, isn't it? Is such a thing even accomplishable? We're teetering on an edge. We don't know if we are creating a future of clean and shiny and modern technology for everybody or if we're creating a dirty and scarred and run down begging-for-please-schedule-me-doctor services for non-millionares in society. More technological improvements are need…

Yes it is (the problem).

In one future the world is ruled by corporations, public services such as internet, medical care, and transportation are provided by them as long as you follow their rules.

In one future the governments seize corporate earnings through taxation to fund basic services resulting in a incestuous and tense symbiotic relationship between companies and governments.

Depending on which side of the bed I wake up on I think one is more likely than the other.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#22
Part of the reason I moved away from the Bay Area is that no one seems to care about it. Everyone is too busy working all the time for their start up, and so there's very little in the way of community. Oakland seems to be the one exception, where it is cheap enough that you can live without dedicating your life to work. Surprise surprise, it turns out to be the place with the interesting restaurant and arts culture.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#23

If I knew of a well run non-profit organization that would strategically and practically invest in San Francisco, I would donate. I can't really think of any that aren't highly political (and thus, not practical). Anyone know of any?

My local donations of choice - not sure which you'd consider political:

* SF Bicycle Coalition: Definitely recommend if you're a fellow biker https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=6334...

* Planned Parenthood: They are very happy to receive donations to keep providing medical services. To donate to local chapter, select "Shasta Pacific" here: https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppo...

* Village Harvest: they harvest community orchards and gardens (which you can also volunteer at on weekends). http://www.villageharvest.org/donate

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The streets are filled with Porsches and Teslas driving by the many homeless people in SF everyday. One might argue that the homeless people wouldn't be there if the fabulous wealth weren't also there. That they can even be there should be a testament to the city's tolerance. In many places, local government does everything they can to remove them. SF has much more social conscience than a lot of people give it cre…

Actually, having talked with a number of homeless folks and done outreach with our Church, a significant portion stay for the weather. Seriously, it just doesn't get too hot or too cold when you're living outside here so you're pretty much ok even if you have to just sleep in your clothes one night. I talked to a guy who had walked here from Utah spending time across the northern Nevada and some in Central California…

Such projects are usually the product of extremely focused community organizing. You would need to find someone willing to spend a lot of time and effort to make it a reality. One person can push such a thing through, but they'd need a lot of support and the ability to pay their bills while they're working tirelessly.

Community organizing is really a lost art.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#25

I've lived all over the country, and I've never seen such a big divide between two groups (wealthy tech and everyone else) as I have in the Bay Area. The last time I was there, I realized why most of the protests for economic reform and "the 1%" are so strong in the Bay Area: because it is so blatantly thrown in people's faces! The streets are filled with Porsches and Teslas driving by the many homeless people in SF…

Rent is absolutely absurd. Most big cities have this problem, but its especially pronounced in SF (probably moreso than everywhere but NYC).

I keep posting variations on this, but this link is relevant here: http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/05/face... . "Rent is absolutely absurd" because of basic economics at work: SF is a desirable place to live in many respects, but it's virtually impossible to build new housing there for reasons discussed at the link. In the face of exploding demand and constant supply, prices rise. For more on this, see The Rent is Too Damn High: http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO. Most big cities have this problem, as you note, and yet most commentators don't discuss the obvious connection between supply limits and prices, per my essay here: https://jseliger.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/connecting-the-dot... .

Regular people move from SF and places like it to the sunbelt, where development is easy and real estate prices more reasonable, and the people who have the money and/or need to be in SF stay/move there.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#26
post #14

Articles like this one always seem to imply that the techies are all sitting comfortably with a giant money vault like Scrooge McDuck, laughing at everyone else and refusing to share. That just isn't the case. In reality, few of them actually have any real financial security. Most work for startups that are living on borrowed time and may not be here in a year or two. Few of them own any real assets such as real esta…

Articles like this one always seem to imply that the techies are all sitting comfortably with a giant money vault like Scrooge McDuck, laughing at everyone else and refusing to share.

Articles like this one also ignore the simple, obvious solution: remove height restrictions and mandatory parking minimums. Developers will build up, supply will increase, and housing costs will fall.

The problem is that many of the same people complaining about high prices don't seem to like the only real means of alleviating the issue; I wrote more about this here: https://jseliger.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/connecting-the-dot... .

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#27
post #19
post #13

Isn't this what taxes are for?

The cities problem isn't revenue, there are plenty of much better managed places that are nicer than San Francisco, without the massive tax base that the city enjoys. The people should be embarrassed at the state of the city. There are pretty clearly major systematic issues. The city is trying to address a bunch of societal issues, while failing at the basics. There is a reason it's considered the worst run big city…

Yes, that was my point.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#28
post #17
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make a great point, but would you agree with the following?: There are tons of Finance jobs paying around 80-100k in NY. That salary, in that city, puts you firmly in the middle class. Is this now (perceived as) middle class?

I'd agree with that, with the qualification that $80-100k may actually be a bit low. In the United States overall, the upper quintile of income starts at about $102k [1], so an income between $80 and $100k would place you in the upper-middle class. However, it's important to keep in mind that the cost of living in San Francisco or New York is much higher than average. Median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,795…

The numbers from the census are household income. The average household has nearly 2 workers.

Re: The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco

#30

San Francisco needs an income tax. So many people enjoy the benefits of living in SF but pay little for its upkeep.

San Francisco has double the budget of some states for 600,000 people, do you really think money is the problem? 40% of the city revenue goes to non-profits as it is. The problems the city has is due entirely to mismanagement, incompetence, and a misguided do-gooder populace.
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