4 ms·

This is obviously extreme, but we're in an extreme situation here. Vote with your feet and get out of the city, move away from the Bay. Only once the upper midd

This is obviously extreme, but we're in an extreme situation here. Vote with your feet and get out of the city, move away from the Bay. Only once the upper middle class feels some pain will anything be done about it. Until then, it's not their problem, they can work around it thanks to the flexibility wealth affords you. I don't see how else this will be fixed, it has to get much worse before it gets any better.

dahdum 8y ago
SF ballooned their deficit by billions during the last bull market. Over $10 billion of unfunded pension and healthcare costs. The next recession is going to be brutal.
- shostack 8y ago
  How does that work exactly with the massive surplus the state is running? [1] couple those Donna be used to fill this gap? [1] https://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/dec/18/jerry-brown/does-california-have-budget-surplus-nearly-30-bill/ https://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/dec/18...
  - dahdum 8y ago
    California has $63b and growing in unfunded pension liabilities. The surplus is only a cash cushion. The problem is vastly reduced if you can shift healthcare costs from the unfunded pensions to single payer or Medicare for all, I think that’s likely to happen in the next 20 years.
closeparen 8y ago
Returning the Bay Area to a quaint, sleepy place isn’t making them feel pain, it’s giving them exactly what they want.
brianpgordon 8y ago
The upper middle class in SF isn't a bunch of asshole NIMBYs who tip badly any more than the lower class is just a bunch of low-life drug dealers. It's a baseless stereotype on both ends. And possibly the most vociferous group blocking housing, Calle 24, is predominately lower class. So I'm not sure it's helpful to paint people with that brush. Incidentally, I think the young new-money transplants that the author trashes in her article are likely to be more sympathetic on this issue than SF native homeowners.
taysic 8y ago
More businesses and types of work rely on illegal labor who are willing to live in working conditions legals often aren't.

dahdum 8y ago

SF ballooned their deficit by billions during the last bull market. Over $10 billion of unfunded pension and healthcare costs. The next recession is going to be brutal.

shostack 8y ago
How does that work exactly with the massive surplus the state is running? [1] couple those Donna be used to fill this gap? [1] https://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/dec/18/jerry-brown/does-california-have-budget-surplus-nearly-30-bill/ https://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/dec/18...
- dahdum 8y ago
  California has $63b and growing in unfunded pension liabilities. The surplus is only a cash cushion. The problem is vastly reduced if you can shift healthcare costs from the unfunded pensions to single payer or Medicare for all, I think that’s likely to happen in the next 20 years.

closeparen 8y ago

Returning the Bay Area to a quaint, sleepy place isn’t making them feel pain, it’s giving them exactly what they want.

brianpgordon 8y ago

The upper middle class in SF isn't a bunch of asshole NIMBYs who tip badly any more than the lower class is just a bunch of low-life drug dealers. It's a baseless stereotype on both ends. And possibly the most vociferous group blocking housing, Calle 24, is predominately lower class. So I'm not sure it's helpful to paint people with that brush. Incidentally, I think the young new-money transplants that the author trashes in her article are likely to be more sympathetic on this issue than SF native homeowners.

taysic 8y ago

More businesses and types of work rely on illegal labor who are willing to live in working conditions legals often aren't.