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Comment by cwp | Hacker News Reader

San Francisco won't be satisfied until they've completely driven out all the tech companies and their employees.

Maybe. I'm not sure that's a bad goal for the average SF resident.

The average SF resident probably works for a tech company considering how many natives have been driven out by high housing costs. Tech companies are an enormous source of tax revenue for the city and many public services quite literally depend on that revenue. One of the major issues in the city now is the city government's obstinate refusal to approve more housing development. The idea that tech workers are gentrifying one of the most expensive cities in the world is frankly absurd.

A public schoolteacher in San Francisco needs to make 30,000 a year more than they are getting paid now just to be above the poverty level. Maybe it's bad for the teachers and other people not in tech if there are that many people running around spending tons of money.

But it's not a question. Most people in SF (let alone those who commute in) do not work for tech companies.

Edit: Teachers need to make 25,000 a year more to no longer qualify for need-based government aid. Not 30,000.

Note that, if prop 13 were repealed, teachers could be paid more and many houses would become available for purchase for less than current prices.

You might be underestimating the effect of prop 13. There's a large number of older SF residents who aren't techies, but can easily afford to live here because they bought property here 20+ years ago when it was much cheaper and now pay almost zero property tax. To be sure there are a lot of people in tech jobs, but there are lots of other well-paying jobs in the city in areas like finance, law, consulting, etc.

I’m not sympathetic to tax dodgers that set up a pyramid scheme (prop 13) that I (as a California homeowner of working age) am a victim of.

The hypothetical person in your example must be making way under local poverty level income to have trouble living in SF without housing and tax expenses.

They could get a job, or move out and extract rent from a techie.

From my perspective, they are sitting on a winning lottery ticket and whining about how they don’t want to spend it, but want all the other benefits.

Something like 10% of SF works in tech.

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