3 ms·

The wealth inequality is acute, visible and disturbing.

by nmca 8y ago

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Is it more visible than London, for example? I know people talk about it a lot but you see some extreme wealth inequality in many big cities. (Just genuinely curious, it's not a trick question)
- ponyous 8y ago
  Definitely more visible than in London. Been living in London for few years and spent few days in SF last year - I have never seen so many homeless people. It also feels like people are more evenly distributed on the curve in LND. Here you encounter people of every level while in SF it seems like lower-middle class is pretty rare. I've been there only for a few days in only a few neighbourhoods so keep this in mind.
- mayniac 8y ago
  I live in London, visited LA (not SF but kind of similar?) The wealth inequality was massively more visible in LA. Far more homeless people. Neighbourhoods were either rich or poor, there wasn't any mixing. OFC London has similar problems, you're going to see more luxury cars than homeless people in Chelsea and vise versa in Brixton, but LA felt like it had gone a lot further. The projects in LA are also far more run down than council estates in London, at least from outward appearances. Agree with what the other comment says too: there isn't really much of a middle ground, it all felt like everyone either has a six figure trust fund or is almost homeless. I've been saying this in various places for a while, but the predominant difference between the UK and the US is the size. Since it's a much bigger country and they have more space, everything is spread out far more. In London I live in a mainly working class (stabby) neighbourhood, but I walk ten minutes and I'm surrounded by houses all worth £1m+. Same thing in every flat I've had in London. In American cities you walk ten minutes and you're still on the same street. It leads to huge buildups of either run down or expensive neighbourhoods which keep themselves very, very isolated from each other and it shows. SF is a bit more walkable from what I've heard but the general problem is still there.
  - pdfernhout 8y ago
    Another difference between the UK and the USA besides size is wealth of the country; see: https://www.greanvillepost.com/2011/08/12/generation-fcked-how-britain-is-eating-its-young/ https://www.greanvillepost.com/2011/08/12/generation-fcked-h... "British children have the most miserable upbringing in the developed world. Is it a coincidence that the US and Britain are now the two developed nations with the most savage and cynical capitalism and deepest class fissures? ... “The reason our children’s lives are the worst among economically advanced countries is because we are a poor version of the USA,” he said. “So the USA comes second from bottom and we follow behind. The age of neo-liberalism, even with the human face that New Labour has given it, cannot stem the tide of the social recession capitalism creates.”" As I suggest here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vK-M_e0JoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vK-M_e0JoY alternatives include some culturally appropriate mix of: * improved subsistence through developing and distributing better tools and know-how for off-grid living like solar panels, 3D printers, mobile microhouses, composting toilets, and gardening robots * expand the gift economy for both physical and digital goods * soften capitalism's exchange-based social harshness with a basic income * better democratic planning to insure public infrastructure to meet everyone's needs (e.g. convert prisons to artist dorms; ensure free food and water is available eveywhere; better automated clean public bathrooms; expanded libraries and health services)
- roymurdock 8y ago
  Grew up in LA, living in South London now. Homelessness and inequality is much more of a problem in LA. Skid row is a modern Hoover/shanty town, and it’s impossible to walk along the beach or any tourist area without coming across clearly mentally unstable homeless people with no support network/help. In London a lot of homeless sit outside of tube stations or grocery stores selling big issue magazines. There are some tents along the canal, but nothing on the scale of LA. It’s rare to see Inequality is obvious in both cities (nice cars, insanely expensive housing) but it’s more concentrated in London. Everyone is rich in central. Huge wealth in LA, but it’s outside the center and not serviced by any public transit - Beverly Hills, Malibu, Brentwood, etc. Police culture is a huge factor. Police in UK are helpers, while police in US are enforcers.
- baby 8y ago
  I've been a bunch in SF and currently live in London. I’d say London has very few homeless compared to a city like Paris. I think it’s impossible to compare it to SF though, I’ve never seen as many homeless people in my life as in SF.

The wealth inequality is acute, visible and disturbing.

by nmca 8y ago

The wealth inequality is acute, visible and disturbing.

Is it more visible than London, for example? I know people talk about it a lot but you see some extreme wealth inequality in many big cities. (Just genuinely curious, it's not a trick question)

ponyous 8y ago
Definitely more visible than in London. Been living in London for few years and spent few days in SF last year - I have never seen so many homeless people. It also feels like people are more evenly distributed on the curve in LND. Here you encounter people of every level while in SF it seems like lower-middle class is pretty rare. I've been there only for a few days in only a few neighbourhoods so keep this in mind.
mayniac 8y ago
I live in London, visited LA (not SF but kind of similar?) The wealth inequality was massively more visible in LA. Far more homeless people. Neighbourhoods were either rich or poor, there wasn't any mixing. OFC London has similar problems, you're going to see more luxury cars than homeless people in Chelsea and vise versa in Brixton, but LA felt like it had gone a lot further. The projects in LA are also far more run down than council estates in London, at least from outward appearances. Agree with what the other comment says too: there isn't really much of a middle ground, it all felt like everyone either has a six figure trust fund or is almost homeless. I've been saying this in various places for a while, but the predominant difference between the UK and the US is the size. Since it's a much bigger country and they have more space, everything is spread out far more. In London I live in a mainly working class (stabby) neighbourhood, but I walk ten minutes and I'm surrounded by houses all worth £1m+. Same thing in every flat I've had in London. In American cities you walk ten minutes and you're still on the same street. It leads to huge buildups of either run down or expensive neighbourhoods which keep themselves very, very isolated from each other and it shows. SF is a bit more walkable from what I've heard but the general problem is still there.
- pdfernhout 8y ago
  Another difference between the UK and the USA besides size is wealth of the country; see: https://www.greanvillepost.com/2011/08/12/generation-fcked-how-britain-is-eating-its-young/ https://www.greanvillepost.com/2011/08/12/generation-fcked-h... "British children have the most miserable upbringing in the developed world. Is it a coincidence that the US and Britain are now the two developed nations with the most savage and cynical capitalism and deepest class fissures? ... “The reason our children’s lives are the worst among economically advanced countries is because we are a poor version of the USA,” he said. “So the USA comes second from bottom and we follow behind. The age of neo-liberalism, even with the human face that New Labour has given it, cannot stem the tide of the social recession capitalism creates.”" As I suggest here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vK-M_e0JoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vK-M_e0JoY alternatives include some culturally appropriate mix of: * improved subsistence through developing and distributing better tools and know-how for off-grid living like solar panels, 3D printers, mobile microhouses, composting toilets, and gardening robots * expand the gift economy for both physical and digital goods * soften capitalism's exchange-based social harshness with a basic income * better democratic planning to insure public infrastructure to meet everyone's needs (e.g. convert prisons to artist dorms; ensure free food and water is available eveywhere; better automated clean public bathrooms; expanded libraries and health services)
roymurdock 8y ago
Grew up in LA, living in South London now. Homelessness and inequality is much more of a problem in LA. Skid row is a modern Hoover/shanty town, and it’s impossible to walk along the beach or any tourist area without coming across clearly mentally unstable homeless people with no support network/help. In London a lot of homeless sit outside of tube stations or grocery stores selling big issue magazines. There are some tents along the canal, but nothing on the scale of LA. It’s rare to see Inequality is obvious in both cities (nice cars, insanely expensive housing) but it’s more concentrated in London. Everyone is rich in central. Huge wealth in LA, but it’s outside the center and not serviced by any public transit - Beverly Hills, Malibu, Brentwood, etc. Police culture is a huge factor. Police in UK are helpers, while police in US are enforcers.
baby 8y ago
I've been a bunch in SF and currently live in London. I’d say London has very few homeless compared to a city like Paris. I think it’s impossible to compare it to SF though, I’ve never seen as many homeless people in my life as in SF.