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Facebook Founder’s Favor Comes with Complications

victimofvictims 9y ago
I profited $1700 driving for Uber this week in SF. How could Mr. Bonilla not afford $1200 in rent (for a room)? I agree it is unfair and sad that there are so much friction to living in SF, but with two incomes you can easily make enough money to survive and save up $10,000 to move to another state. When you make the choice to have 2 children with no career, you are going to have to work a lot and sacriface your personal happiness for your children. It's not Mark Zuckerburg's fault, it is the individual's lack of resilency, work ethic and thriftiness. That said, rent and the governments in the Bay are out of control, and there's dozens of things we should be doing as a society and through local governments that could reduce the burden of living a normal life. (I should add, I work 70 hours a week for Uber plus 20 hours a week remotely. I also live in my car. I have made $27,000 the last 3-months. I also eat keto & go to the gym. Not exactly sustainable but a way to get to another level in life.)
- Cacti 9y ago
  What the hell does any of that have to do with this guy getting kicked out of his RV lot so Zucks wife can build a school near her home?
  - victimofvictims 9y ago
    The city said it was a flood issue. Regardless, no one has an innate right to live anywhere. A billion people in this world are under refugee status -- in real dire circumstances. Life is unfair. I have cancer and am currently in a serious legal dispute with extremely influential people. I also had everything stolen from me, by the police. I also probably have PTSD via the billionaire and his political mercenaries that nearly destroyed my life. Who do I contact to help me? EDIT- So what is the answer or your counter argument? To regulate Facebook?
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - Buldak 9y ago
    This has to be a joke. Stuff like the keto bit are just too much.
- automatoney 9y ago
  Perhaps Mr. Bonilla has extra expenses due to his grandchildren. Which he might not have directly chosen to have, but has to raise because they are family. And maybe he is unable to work 90 hour weeks. Sometimes bad things happen to people outside of their control. To me it seems very sad that the massive wealth of silicon valley has not translated to good fortune and happiness for more people in the region.
  - victimofvictims 9y ago
    Well the 43 year old grandfather could work 50 hours a week and make $1100. Of course, it's sad -- mostly for the people who work so hard and have to deal with such adversities. Living in an RV park with waste water issues isn't the solution though. I feel sorry for every human suffering, including the 25,000 children under 5 that will die today unnecessarily. Life is brutal and I blame the big tech companies, billionaires and those creating the systems for failing to build a better world. But Mr. Bonilla's mistakes in his life are his own and only him and his wife can solve their problems. Engendering victim mentalities isn't going to change anything.
  - ouid 9y ago
    Sad, but entirely predictable. Supply side econ is just as absurd on a local level as it is on a national level.
- King-Aaron 9y ago
  You're talking about a ~90hour work week. I have doubts that this is the case, but if it is, this is an insane work-life balance, and your experiences should not be directly translated to other people's situations. I find it incredible that you're ragging on another persons decisions, when your own decisions could quite easily be put under the microscope and shown to be unviable. Though I find it interesting that this is the only thing you've posted here. To both boast about your own lifestyle, and to deride someone else's. Not really HN worthy behaivour tbh.
chrishacken 9y ago
Facebook is more than welcome to come gentrify the city where I live. It would be a welcomed change from the influx of decrepit homes that are abandoned and/or poorly maintained.
734786710934 9y ago
There's a weird disconnect in this article between the reality of what Zuckerberg is trying to do and the agenda being pushed by the author. You have this paragraph: "The social network has been lobbying to build more housing in the region, which Silicon Valley cities, worried about traffic and preferring a commercial over residential tax base, have fought against. In East Palo Alto, Facebook has invested $18.5 million into the Catalyst Housing Fund, an affordable housing initiative; the company has set a goal to grow the fund to $75 million." Followed by this paragraph: "East Palo Alto’s residents have long felt disempowered against change brought by tech leaders like Mr. Zuckerberg. A 2.6-square-mile town where one-third of the school children are homeless, it has stood as a sign that Silicon Valley’s wealth might not spread to those beyond its tech campuses." If Silicon Valley’s wealth is not being spread to those beyond its tech campuses it's not for a lack of trying.
- laughinghan 9y ago
  Interesting, I didn't feel at all like there was a weird disconnect or agenda being pushed. In fact, it felt to me like a pained attempt to paint a contentious situation fairly and factually. It seems all too plausible to me that both of the following might be factually true: • Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are putting a lot of money into the local community and feel like they are going above and beyond their obligations in that regard • various hardships that the local community has suffered and is suffering over the recent years are directly and visibly linked to Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, and therefore they feel like Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have and are continuing to harm them, not help them The article seemed to be taking pains not to claim that any of the following were true, or that their opposite was true: • Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are wrong to feel that they are going above and beyond; they should instead be contributing to the local community more and/or differently • the local community is wrong to feel that Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are doing more to help than to hurt them; in fact, they have no right or claim to getting more from, or even what they currently get from, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg It sounds like you think it's clear that Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are contributing plenty enough to the local community. I'd be interested in learning why you think it's so clear that they needn't be doing more or different things, in spite of the local community's reported continued hardships.
seasonalgrit 9y ago
The proper way to improve education in a community is to get involved with the existing school systems -- the schools are already there. Be wary of ideologues possessing way too much money combined with an impoverished sense of ethics (e.g., Zuckerberg) who shun existing civic institutions and go off to start their own for-profit/corporate 'schools' instead.
- 734786710934 9y ago
  >The proper way to improve education in a community is to get involved with the existing school systems That didn't work out too well when Zuckerberg tried it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-newark-schools-partially-squandered-a-great-prize/2015/10/20/ffff660c-7743-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-newark-schools-p...
  - seasonalgrit 9y ago
    Thank you for sharing that link. I am not familiar with Russakoff's work and it looks very thought-provoking.
  - jacobolus 9y ago
    Having unaccountable billionaires with no knowledge of the field dump piles of money down (along with dictating how it should be spent) in a splashy PR stunt is a horrible way to improve public institutions. Instead we should properly tax the billionaires, and then elect public officials who value public education, so they can figure out how to improve schools with the advice and help of all of the local stakeholders. But a lot of the rich folks’ education initiatives (including Zuckerberg’s, probably) turn out to be more about gaming the tax code and sometimes immigration laws (with a bonus of good PR) than really helping the schools out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/04/why-hedge-funds-love-charter-schools/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/... As an added bonus (more relevant to the Koch brothers than Zuckerberg perhaps), charter schools help break teachers’ unions and destroy the public education system, which has a big knock-on political benefit for Republicans who want to undercut a major base of Democratic party support.
user2283 9y ago
Am I the only one that noticed the alliteration in the headline? I wonder if they could have made it all F-words
golemotron 9y ago
Another example of The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics. https://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-ethics/ https://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-eth...
adrianlmm 9y ago
I feel like Facebook is like Trump, It doesn't matter what it does, media will always attack it.
valuearb 9y ago
As a free-market libertarian there is nothing worse that crony capitalism. And that's what happened here. When the political leadership of my beloved former lunchtime basketball grounds of East Palo Alto tries to claim they didn't take the RV Park for the school, they immediately contradict themselves. "She added that the flood-prone street would be rebuilt for the school, so the R.V.s would have had to move in any case." And you known Chan-Zuckerman was behind it. Eminent domain should never be allowed to be used for one business, even a non-profit school, to take the property of another. It should only be used for the highest public purposes, and only with fair compensation.
gimmeminusnow3 9y ago
Why in earth I would care what Facebooks founder think about anything else than violating my privacy and pushing psychological programs to people ?? All of you should know by now, that Facebook is CIA's and NSA's creation. People please leave these services.

I profited $1700 driving for Uber this week in SF. How could Mr. Bonilla not afford $1200 in rent (for a room)? I agree it is unfair and sad that there are so much friction to living in SF, but with two incomes you can easily make enough money to survive and save up $10,000 to move to another state. When you make the choice to have 2 children with no career, you are going to have to work a lot and sacriface your personal happiness for your children. It's not Mark Zuckerburg's fault, it is the individual's lack of resilency, work ethic and thriftiness. That said, rent and the governments in the Bay are out of control, and there's dozens of things we should be doing as a society and through local governments that could reduce the burden of living a normal life. (I should add, I work 70 hours a week for Uber plus 20 hours a week remotely. I also live in my car. I have made $27,000 the last 3-months. I also eat keto & go to the gym. Not exactly sustainable but a way to get to another level in life.)

Cacti 9y ago
What the hell does any of that have to do with this guy getting kicked out of his RV lot so Zucks wife can build a school near her home?
- victimofvictims 9y ago
  The city said it was a flood issue. Regardless, no one has an innate right to live anywhere. A billion people in this world are under refugee status -- in real dire circumstances. Life is unfair. I have cancer and am currently in a serious legal dispute with extremely influential people. I also had everything stolen from me, by the police. I also probably have PTSD via the billionaire and his political mercenaries that nearly destroyed my life. Who do I contact to help me? EDIT- So what is the answer or your counter argument? To regulate Facebook?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- Buldak 9y ago
  This has to be a joke. Stuff like the keto bit are just too much.
automatoney 9y ago
Perhaps Mr. Bonilla has extra expenses due to his grandchildren. Which he might not have directly chosen to have, but has to raise because they are family. And maybe he is unable to work 90 hour weeks. Sometimes bad things happen to people outside of their control. To me it seems very sad that the massive wealth of silicon valley has not translated to good fortune and happiness for more people in the region.
- victimofvictims 9y ago
  Well the 43 year old grandfather could work 50 hours a week and make $1100. Of course, it's sad -- mostly for the people who work so hard and have to deal with such adversities. Living in an RV park with waste water issues isn't the solution though. I feel sorry for every human suffering, including the 25,000 children under 5 that will die today unnecessarily. Life is brutal and I blame the big tech companies, billionaires and those creating the systems for failing to build a better world. But Mr. Bonilla's mistakes in his life are his own and only him and his wife can solve their problems. Engendering victim mentalities isn't going to change anything.
- ouid 9y ago
  Sad, but entirely predictable. Supply side econ is just as absurd on a local level as it is on a national level.
King-Aaron 9y ago
You're talking about a ~90hour work week. I have doubts that this is the case, but if it is, this is an insane work-life balance, and your experiences should not be directly translated to other people's situations. I find it incredible that you're ragging on another persons decisions, when your own decisions could quite easily be put under the microscope and shown to be unviable. Though I find it interesting that this is the only thing you've posted here. To both boast about your own lifestyle, and to deride someone else's. Not really HN worthy behaivour tbh.

chrishacken 9y ago

Facebook is more than welcome to come gentrify the city where I live. It would be a welcomed change from the influx of decrepit homes that are abandoned and/or poorly maintained.

734786710934 9y ago

There's a weird disconnect in this article between the reality of what Zuckerberg is trying to do and the agenda being pushed by the author. You have this paragraph: "The social network has been lobbying to build more housing in the region, which Silicon Valley cities, worried about traffic and preferring a commercial over residential tax base, have fought against. In East Palo Alto, Facebook has invested $18.5 million into the Catalyst Housing Fund, an affordable housing initiative; the company has set a goal to grow the fund to $75 million." Followed by this paragraph: "East Palo Alto’s residents have long felt disempowered against change brought by tech leaders like Mr. Zuckerberg. A 2.6-square-mile town where one-third of the school children are homeless, it has stood as a sign that Silicon Valley’s wealth might not spread to those beyond its tech campuses." If Silicon Valley’s wealth is not being spread to those beyond its tech campuses it's not for a lack of trying.

laughinghan 9y ago
Interesting, I didn't feel at all like there was a weird disconnect or agenda being pushed. In fact, it felt to me like a pained attempt to paint a contentious situation fairly and factually. It seems all too plausible to me that both of the following might be factually true: • Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are putting a lot of money into the local community and feel like they are going above and beyond their obligations in that regard • various hardships that the local community has suffered and is suffering over the recent years are directly and visibly linked to Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, and therefore they feel like Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have and are continuing to harm them, not help them The article seemed to be taking pains not to claim that any of the following were true, or that their opposite was true: • Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are wrong to feel that they are going above and beyond; they should instead be contributing to the local community more and/or differently • the local community is wrong to feel that Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are doing more to help than to hurt them; in fact, they have no right or claim to getting more from, or even what they currently get from, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg It sounds like you think it's clear that Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are contributing plenty enough to the local community. I'd be interested in learning why you think it's so clear that they needn't be doing more or different things, in spite of the local community's reported continued hardships.

seasonalgrit 9y ago

The proper way to improve education in a community is to get involved with the existing school systems -- the schools are already there. Be wary of ideologues possessing way too much money combined with an impoverished sense of ethics (e.g., Zuckerberg) who shun existing civic institutions and go off to start their own for-profit/corporate 'schools' instead.

734786710934 9y ago
>The proper way to improve education in a community is to get involved with the existing school systems That didn't work out too well when Zuckerberg tried it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-newark-schools-partially-squandered-a-great-prize/2015/10/20/ffff660c-7743-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-newark-schools-p...
- seasonalgrit 9y ago
  Thank you for sharing that link. I am not familiar with Russakoff's work and it looks very thought-provoking.
- jacobolus 9y ago
  Having unaccountable billionaires with no knowledge of the field dump piles of money down (along with dictating how it should be spent) in a splashy PR stunt is a horrible way to improve public institutions. Instead we should properly tax the billionaires, and then elect public officials who value public education, so they can figure out how to improve schools with the advice and help of all of the local stakeholders. But a lot of the rich folks’ education initiatives (including Zuckerberg’s, probably) turn out to be more about gaming the tax code and sometimes immigration laws (with a bonus of good PR) than really helping the schools out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/04/why-hedge-funds-love-charter-schools/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/... As an added bonus (more relevant to the Koch brothers than Zuckerberg perhaps), charter schools help break teachers’ unions and destroy the public education system, which has a big knock-on political benefit for Republicans who want to undercut a major base of Democratic party support.

user2283 9y ago

Am I the only one that noticed the alliteration in the headline? I wonder if they could have made it all F-words

golemotron 9y ago

Another example of The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics. https://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-ethics/ https://blog.jaibot.com/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-eth...

adrianlmm 9y ago

I feel like Facebook is like Trump, It doesn't matter what it does, media will always attack it.

valuearb 9y ago

As a free-market libertarian there is nothing worse that crony capitalism. And that's what happened here. When the political leadership of my beloved former lunchtime basketball grounds of East Palo Alto tries to claim they didn't take the RV Park for the school, they immediately contradict themselves. "She added that the flood-prone street would be rebuilt for the school, so the R.V.s would have had to move in any case." And you known Chan-Zuckerman was behind it. Eminent domain should never be allowed to be used for one business, even a non-profit school, to take the property of another. It should only be used for the highest public purposes, and only with fair compensation.

gimmeminusnow3 9y ago

Why in earth I would care what Facebooks founder think about anything else than violating my privacy and pushing psychological programs to people ?? All of you should know by now, that Facebook is CIA's and NSA's creation. People please leave these services.