4 ms·

Seems like in America (or the world, or capitalism in general), incumbents have a strong grasp on everything, from business to government to land. In SF, it's m

Seems like in America (or the world, or capitalism in general), incumbents have a strong grasp on everything, from business to government to land. In SF, it's magnified with the amount of space being scarce. People who were there first, whether they are homeowners or business owners, and benefit from obstructing newcomers.

parineum 5y ago
The incumbent control is executed through regulations. Cities more friendly to regulation have this type of problem more often. I see this sort of thing attributed to capitalism all the time when, really, it's just corruption of the regulatory process. Corruption isn't a bug in capitalism, it's a trait of humans. Corruption has crippled bodies of all types, from the UN to my HOA. With zero regulation this problem wouldn't exist. The guy would rent the space and open an ice cream shop in days, if not weeks. There might be rat feces in the chocolate chip but he'd be selling it.
- munk-a 5y ago
  Well, with zero regulation this guy would open up his shop and the other business owners would just dump trash outside of his door until he's forced to move away (or, like, worse). Regulations work both ways and even the regulation here (restricting the opening of a new business) is something that can and has benefited small business - lest we forget when Walmart aggressively forced out competitors with heavy market saturation before consolidating services into infrequent super-stores.
  - username90 5y ago
    It could take weeks instead of years to sort this out, SF just doesn't want to do it.
  - parineum 5y ago
    That's why I mentioned the rat feces. It's certainly a give and take but you can't have regulatory capture without a regulatory mechanism.
pjlegato 5y ago
Capitalism? Socialist countries such as Cuba and North Korea are far worse in terms of state-mandated incumbent preservation. Their economies are lifted directly out of 1950 in the best parts, and the feudal era in the worst parts.
grecy 5y ago
It's a huge breath of fresh air to go to other countries that are not this way and realize how much opportunity there is. I seriously thought about setting up a business in Argentina when I was there, and friends have braved Zimbabwe and are doing well. Obviously there are plenty of other pitfalls, but the barrier to entry is essentially non-existent. Coming back to Canada after spending years abroad I can't help feeling like everything here is "done" and there's no room for more.

parineum 5y ago

The incumbent control is executed through regulations. Cities more friendly to regulation have this type of problem more often. I see this sort of thing attributed to capitalism all the time when, really, it's just corruption of the regulatory process. Corruption isn't a bug in capitalism, it's a trait of humans. Corruption has crippled bodies of all types, from the UN to my HOA. With zero regulation this problem wouldn't exist. The guy would rent the space and open an ice cream shop in days, if not weeks. There might be rat feces in the chocolate chip but he'd be selling it.

munk-a 5y ago
Well, with zero regulation this guy would open up his shop and the other business owners would just dump trash outside of his door until he's forced to move away (or, like, worse). Regulations work both ways and even the regulation here (restricting the opening of a new business) is something that can and has benefited small business - lest we forget when Walmart aggressively forced out competitors with heavy market saturation before consolidating services into infrequent super-stores.
- username90 5y ago
  It could take weeks instead of years to sort this out, SF just doesn't want to do it.
- parineum 5y ago
  That's why I mentioned the rat feces. It's certainly a give and take but you can't have regulatory capture without a regulatory mechanism.

pjlegato 5y ago

Capitalism? Socialist countries such as Cuba and North Korea are far worse in terms of state-mandated incumbent preservation. Their economies are lifted directly out of 1950 in the best parts, and the feudal era in the worst parts.

grecy 5y ago

It's a huge breath of fresh air to go to other countries that are not this way and realize how much opportunity there is. I seriously thought about setting up a business in Argentina when I was there, and friends have braved Zimbabwe and are doing well. Obviously there are plenty of other pitfalls, but the barrier to entry is essentially non-existent. Coming back to Canada after spending years abroad I can't help feeling like everything here is "done" and there's no room for more.