San Francisco is a 'train wreck' of inequality

I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it. I grew up in SF, lived here most of my adult life (I'm in my late 40s), and the state of SF hurts. San Franciscans might have a rep for being a bit snobby toward tourists, but a lot of us actually appreciate them, at least certain kinds of tourists. There are tourists who come back often and know the restaurants, clubs, theater, music venues, and history better than most locals, and I consider them a part of the city, really, an integral part of it. There aren't many truly urban places in the United States, and while SF isn't close to NY on this front, it's one of the other places where real urban-ness exists to an extent where you can find it. In that sense, I think SF belongs to everyone, not just the people who live here. And in a lot of ways, I think SF has been taken from you. Some grit is part of urban life, but the blight has gotten bad enough that I understand why a lot of people feel that they no longer enjoy the urban experience in SF. There certainly are parts of SF where this effect is much less pronounced, and many of them are gorgeous (a walk along Chrissy field, looking out at the bay, with the golden gate bridge to your left, the bay in the middle, Alcatraz and sailboats, and the city shimmering to your right, is a pretty awesome experience, the kind that stays in your mind long after you've gone back home).

But the thing is, that thing that makes SF rare, especially in the western half of the US, the urban qualities, are without question tarnished at this point. My grandmother grew up in rural Idaho in the early 20th century, and she told me that when someone said "the city", they actually meant San Francisco. Visiting a really urban place was a fascinating experience.

There's still an urban pleasure to be found here, and I'm always encouraged to hear that someone did find it on a first trip here. Hope that was the case for you.

absurd. you spent a grand total of 1 week of your life there, and experienced normal city traffic for any major urban center. you also went to places within walking distance of the conference center.

and after that grand total of time (and how many long time residents did you have a meaningful conversation with?), it's definitely not for you.

I would never like to live there either, but not based on a 1 week myopic view. SF is definitely taking a turn for the worse, even of a short timeframe like that last decade. However your review is quite poor. I hope you don't come to snap judgements like that about technology you deploy.

The city government is bloated, pension plans are unsustainably generous, there is corruption of course, there is a homeless industrial complex that sucks up funds and does little, there are costly building codes that were written to benefit various trades, even though fire prevention has improved greatly, the SFFD spews FUD everytime a good government type suggests a few firehouses could be closed, Police refuse to do their jobs and blames the City Attorney, and it is true the City Attorney doesn’t do their job bit its no excuse for the SFPD, MUNI has the highest cost per mile in the US, and on and on.

Roughly almost 600 Billion is spent on the homeless problem. Unfortunately, due to the incredibly high cost of housing, that money doesn't go very far. It'd be interesting to see a breakdown of where exactly all that money goes. Anecdotally, I've read articles of government funded syringes lining some of the streets.

As for why you don't see more high rises going up, that's due to regulations which increase cost. I saw one tech crunch article that said super computers are now required to comply with all the regulations: https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/08/why-you-need-a-supercomput...

Ironically, affordability regulations actually drive the cost of building up to the point where no one can afford it anymore and nothing gets built. Why is this allowed? A big chunk of the SF population is deeply conservative ( politically liberal), but actually conservative in that they dont want anything to change. Meanwhile more and more jobs are added every day exacerbating a huge imbalance between housing and jobs, and employers continue to wonder why they can't find "talent".

On the plus side, there's no shortage of fun spots in SF: the fisherman's wharf, the embarcadero, the presidio, etc. Lots of fun restaurants and cafes, etc.

This is a genuinely good take, and the downvotes are disappointing. We like to describe new efficiencies in productivity and information-seeking as "good for the consumer," because that's a highly positive effect.

But it's awful for any supplier who hasn't found a way to be better than the best yet - and that in turn can encourage unhealthy consolidation of large businesses at the expense of small ones.

Put another way: let's face it, some of Adam Smith's predictions about the risks of monopoly were right too.

I agree with sentiments of parts of what you say. However, the 3rd world countries have had the largest gains in the last 30 years. Global extreme poverty, child mortality, lifespan in 3rd world countries have had the most improvements BY FAR.

Your thinking is absolutely correct and i feel the same way that you do. The world in general likes to reward those who already have in an exponential fashion. This is why no matter what type of system we adopt, there will always be a 1% and a 99% (In sports, wealth, academia, whatever... with the top .01% having an even more mind boggling share of resources or whatever). I don't mind being part of the 99% if my basic necessities are met, after all the cause of revolutions and the like is because they necessities are not met. I think the efficiency in production and all the technological advances should ultimately at least allow common people their basic necessities without requiring something of them in return. I think a universal basic income will have to be adopted at some point.

I mean there are some solutions here.. Buy local. Hail a taxi. Don't use Google and log off of Facebook/Instagram.

Have we tried enforcing antitrust law?