6 ms·
California is the United States, writ large. It's not qualitatively different, it's just more so. Or, from a slightly different standpoint, the rest of the co
by rsync 8y ago
California is the United States, writ large. It's not qualitatively different, it's just more so.
Or, from a slightly different standpoint, the rest of the country is California, just 20 years behind schedule.
I have lived in many different places all over the United States, including twice in California, where I have settled with my family, and it's very easy to fall into a "crazy california" narrative - especially when comparing with "sensible" places like Minnesota. But it's not true. Right this very moment in Minneapolis there is a heated, polarized debate about housing affordability and homeless services and zoning that is indistinguishable from the SFBA debate (save for the pricing numbers difference).
- trophycase 8y agoInterestingly enough, Minneapolis just upzoned the entire city. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/minneapolis-single-family-zoning.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/minneapolis-single-fam...
- pascalxus 8y agoYou're right as far as blue cities/states go. But Some other cities (some red ones and some blues that are less liberals) don't stop housing from being built as much. The less rules and regulations and zoning, the more supply is created. Houstan, Dallas for instance are much more affordable.
- notacoward 8y agoI'm not so sure that California is ahead of the rest of the country. The effect of the tech industry on the Bay Area's fortunes is not that unlike the effect of the auto industry on Detroit or even the textile mills on New England. Silicon Valley is just the latest iteration of a cycle that has existed for a long time.
- HillaryBriss 8y agoit seems like global competition is the force that ultimately damaged both Detroit's auto industry and New England's textile mills. on the surface at least, it seems reasonable to guess that, somehow, global competition will be the force that ultimately dethrones Silicon Valley.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoThe "you can't offshore tech" arguments of today are basically the same "you need skilled labor to manufacture this, they can't do that in the 3rd world" arguments of decades past.
- Nasrudith 8y agoThey did try to offshore tech but it failed to fully displace for various reasons. I'm curious were there attempts at remote industrial outsourcing in the past that failed? I know that Ford attempted his own South American rubber plantation that essentially ended up in literal rebellion due to being a control freak, cultural imperialist and poor agricultural planner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlândia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlândia
- HillaryBriss 8y agoFor SV's demise, I think the pattern to watch for is corporations like Toyota or Honda. During the decades of their ascendancy, they actually understood the US consumer better than their Detroit counterparts and built cars the US consumer favored. Then they built factories in the US. Yet, they remained truly Japanese companies.
- freewilly1040 8y agoOther cities have the same problems, but are not following the same failed solutions. Another commenter posted about how Minneapolis upzoned the whole city, something unimaginable in the bay. Rent control also has little traction there.
- jeffdavis 8y agoIs the argument really the same, or is the media just presenting it that way out of laziness?