Income inequality is far greater in the Facebook/Google/Mozilla types of places. Rural areas have much less variability. When hackers grow older, and decide th

Income inequality is far greater in the Facebook/Google/Mozilla types of places. Rural areas have much less variability. When hackers grow older, and decide they don't want noise and 4-story apartments nearby, then yes, the peaceful do have an impact. They don't feel it because they donate to EFF and recycle and have a "Nuclear-Free Zone" sign at the entrance to their town. But the root of Bay Area inequality is housing, full stop. I took a ride share from the airport a couple of months ago. The driver lives better than I do. He lives in Sacramento and drives all weekend. He then comes back to his 4 bedroom house in a rural suburb. His children attend a decent school. There is low crime in his town. Other states have other problems, perhaps due to national policies. But the Bay Area's problems are almost all of it's own making. The worst off are the locals who can't move back to their Midwestern towns as the newcomers can. Their entire support structure is in the Bay Area. So their only option is to move to Antioch or Tracy to accept a 2 hour commute for a $15/hr job. You're right that there will be unrest, but it won't be in Alabama, nor will it be in Fresno. It'll be where the nice hackers live.