SF is a city fully controlled by a wealthy elite who buy themselves a sense of moral superiority and/or clean conscience by dabbling in "progressive causes".

If you're insinuating that progressive politics per se somehow inevitably lead to crime and urban decay, have a look north of the border.

What passes for centrist politics up here in Canada's major cities would make Berkley look like a conservative stronghold (at least in terms of economic policy... maybe we lag behind in biodynamic freegan wine co-ops). Yet Toronto and Montreal are by far the safest large cities on the continent. We absolutely have the same kinds of problems — homelessness, poverty, inequality — but our "socialist" welfare safety net and public healthcare have so far kept us out of the dystopian mess that seems to be unfolding in the US.