San Francisco, the influence of mega-wealth and the great divide.
brianlux
Posts: 42,038
The changes talked about in the article linked are difficult for me personally because I have strong ties to and for much of my life lived near and/or in San Francisco since the early 50's. But this is about far more than just my own personal feelings. A key point is in the article that illustrates a growing divide:
"This sort of change is hardly limited to San Francisco; cities everywhere are experiencing surges in inequality and an influx of mega-wealth."
I didn't want to make this too long by copying the entire article but it goes on to talk about the various ways in which the tech industry and Airbnb are laying siege to this once great city and how racism is playing a roll as well (I know, your thinking "racism in San Francisco?" Oh yeah! Read at the link).
Something to think about, for sure.
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/03/the_fate_of_san_francisco_hangs_in_the_balance_the_pivotal_election_day_contests_that_could_change_everything/
"I love many things about living in New York City, but one thing I hate is that I can no longer vote in my hometown, San Francisco. Elections in New York area boring. Elections in San Francisco really matter. Thanks to the city’s small size and the unbelievable ease with which propositions can be put on the ballot, voters have a great deal of power in their hands.
Today’s elections in San Francisco have come around at a particularly intense time. The civil war taking place there over the reach and influence of the tech industry has become an international story. From the soccer field face-off between some Dropbox bros and local kids, to Airbnb’s recent cartoon-villain ads that got the company into so much trouble, to those Google bus protests, everyone has been given a front-row seat to what is happening to the City by the Bay—where, as the New York Times chillingly put it this week, there is so much money sloshing around that “the days when a regular family could raise children here are probably over.”
This sort of change is hardly limited to San Francisco; cities everywhere are experiencing surges in inequality and an influx of mega-wealth. But San Francisco has been chosen as the epicenter of the tech industry, and so it has been subjected to a particularly rapacious transformation. If you are from there, you can sense it almost instantly.
This is actually the second time that tech has brought this sort of turmoil to San Francisco. The first dot-com boom at the turn of the 21st century was similarly contentious. (This is where I disclose that my family was evicted from our house during that period by owners who wanted desperately to raise the rent, which they duly did.) But that was nothing compared to what is happening now. There’s a very good reason for that: The technology industry is now so integral to our lives that it’s not going anywhere any time soon.
I don’t know what it feels like for people from other cities to experience the kind of dislocation that is roiling San Francisco, but I am very aware of the specific feeling that comes from seeing this particular place be so dramatically altered.
San Francisco is small. Even the lengthiest journeys take about a half hour in the car. This means that, if you grow up there, or if you live there for any extended period of time, essentially every part of the city leaves its mark on you. You experience every neighborhood in some form or another. People from San Francisco have a particularly intimate relationship with their city.
So when you see what is happening in San Francisco—when you gaze open-mouthed at the vast pockets of money that have colonized places you once adored and turned them virtually unrecognizable—it is deeply, almost startlingly unsettling. It only becomes more unsettling when you are then told that your hidebound anti-development ways are the cause of the problem. (This is not true, by the way.) People are freaked out about what is taking place in San Francisco because they feel like this city that nurtured them and understood them and loved them back has been ripped from them overnight and given to people with no understanding of what they’ve done."
(See more at link)
"This sort of change is hardly limited to San Francisco; cities everywhere are experiencing surges in inequality and an influx of mega-wealth."
I didn't want to make this too long by copying the entire article but it goes on to talk about the various ways in which the tech industry and Airbnb are laying siege to this once great city and how racism is playing a roll as well (I know, your thinking "racism in San Francisco?" Oh yeah! Read at the link).
Something to think about, for sure.
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/03/the_fate_of_san_francisco_hangs_in_the_balance_the_pivotal_election_day_contests_that_could_change_everything/
"I love many things about living in New York City, but one thing I hate is that I can no longer vote in my hometown, San Francisco. Elections in New York area boring. Elections in San Francisco really matter. Thanks to the city’s small size and the unbelievable ease with which propositions can be put on the ballot, voters have a great deal of power in their hands.
Today’s elections in San Francisco have come around at a particularly intense time. The civil war taking place there over the reach and influence of the tech industry has become an international story. From the soccer field face-off between some Dropbox bros and local kids, to Airbnb’s recent cartoon-villain ads that got the company into so much trouble, to those Google bus protests, everyone has been given a front-row seat to what is happening to the City by the Bay—where, as the New York Times chillingly put it this week, there is so much money sloshing around that “the days when a regular family could raise children here are probably over.”
This sort of change is hardly limited to San Francisco; cities everywhere are experiencing surges in inequality and an influx of mega-wealth. But San Francisco has been chosen as the epicenter of the tech industry, and so it has been subjected to a particularly rapacious transformation. If you are from there, you can sense it almost instantly.
This is actually the second time that tech has brought this sort of turmoil to San Francisco. The first dot-com boom at the turn of the 21st century was similarly contentious. (This is where I disclose that my family was evicted from our house during that period by owners who wanted desperately to raise the rent, which they duly did.) But that was nothing compared to what is happening now. There’s a very good reason for that: The technology industry is now so integral to our lives that it’s not going anywhere any time soon.
I don’t know what it feels like for people from other cities to experience the kind of dislocation that is roiling San Francisco, but I am very aware of the specific feeling that comes from seeing this particular place be so dramatically altered.
San Francisco is small. Even the lengthiest journeys take about a half hour in the car. This means that, if you grow up there, or if you live there for any extended period of time, essentially every part of the city leaves its mark on you. You experience every neighborhood in some form or another. People from San Francisco have a particularly intimate relationship with their city.
So when you see what is happening in San Francisco—when you gaze open-mouthed at the vast pockets of money that have colonized places you once adored and turned them virtually unrecognizable—it is deeply, almost startlingly unsettling. It only becomes more unsettling when you are then told that your hidebound anti-development ways are the cause of the problem. (This is not true, by the way.) People are freaked out about what is taking place in San Francisco because they feel like this city that nurtured them and understood them and loved them back has been ripped from them overnight and given to people with no understanding of what they’ve done."
(See more at link)
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.
0
Comments
Her rent was ridiculous back then too. I see why people have to pay $900 for a closet.
I got to thinking about this situation in S.F. this morning and it dawned on me that this is yet another reason to see "Soylant Green" as a hugely prophetic movie. In that film a small percentage of the population live in extreme luxury while the masses live in crowed abject poverty. Seems we are headed in that direction.
Oh, and be careful what you eat.
I'm not sure how long that can go on. Perhaps automation and robotics will allow it to continue until the ecosystem begins to fail miserably or perhaps when artificial intelligence and artificial life (which do not rely on an ecosystem) replaces biological life altogether.
But this is the most pessimistic post I've laid down in some time. I really hope younger generations of people begin to see the value of cooperation and a more egalitarian society evolves.
I quadrupled my growing space this fall and I have 50 blueberry bushes and 6 fruit trees coming in March. The rabbit hutch is ready and the henhouse will go up in May.
There are so many of us that want to grow organic food and raise ethical protein, balance the economy and rights of all, and we are using the wide availability of wisdom to avoid the mistakes (miracle grow, round up, victory gardens, pesticides, republicans, religion, etc.) that the previous generation made out of laziness and/or lack of alternative info.
I can't even begin to describe what's going on in my corner of the world and there's no mega wealthy here. They're building hotels and luxury residential buildings with zero infrastructure improvements. And I'm not complaining about the 20-50 year old neighborhood mom & pop shops that are being evicted but the fact that those buildings are being torn down to get 7-10 story residential buildings when there's no parking and no space to get on the train in the morning rush already.
Now the councilman suggests they put tolls on all the east river crossings to reduce traffic, but really it's just a tax to keep the less than wealthy off the bridge and squished into a 100 year old subway that can't support us as of now.
LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435
The hope for urban development may lie in the logical, humane thinking of organization like New Urbansim. Their principle are stated here- worth checking out if you have time:
http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism/principles.html
LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435
It sucks big time, I would literally get the same results from pissing on the plants.
I think keeping cities affordable may br missing the point, urbanization itself needs to be looked at. Though they will always be necessary as centers of knowledge and industry, large cities aren't as vital as they once were, and they keep the corporate system in power. We can elect progressive leaders, but that won't do enough unless we disrupt the very culture of consumerism that drives the mega wealthy.
The way to do that is to get people out of supermarkets and big box stores and into the world. We need local supply chains and production on goods and foods to break up the wealth into smaller pieces pieces and spread it around.
Making smart choices at wisely chosen stores inside San Francisco is a stopgap measure, it doesn't do anything to fix the situation.
Not that we shouldn't fight corporatism and greed directly, but it won't be enough. When people get back in touch with the land, with their food and goods, and tune out of mainstream culture the economy will follow.
Living simply is the only future I can see humanity having any success with.
My soil has been just fine and the rose bushes have never been healthier, 15yrs strong.
Fuckus rules all
Rob
Seattle
LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435