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Yes the people were California’s greatest asset. Unfortunately many of them have been displaced by hordes of tech bros (and sis) who swooped in for those almigh

Yes the people were California’s greatest asset. Unfortunately many of them have been displaced by hordes of tech bros (and sis) who swooped in for those almighty dollars. Not that I am knocking the hustle, but in my experience they don’t really like living here, do not understand or respect the locals, and their contributions to the overall cultural atmosphere are subtraction by addition. I knew we were in trouble when I started running into people who moved into tech from finance after the 2008 crash. Now these people are spreading to Austin, like a cancer. The sad part is people blame California for it, when most of these people are not actually from here.

epistasis 5y ago
I wish that we had a tenth of the contempt for the landlords and homeowners that causes this as we do for the tech bros who are the symptom of the artificial scarcity. The tech bros were not the ones displacing people, it was entirely the fault of landlords who raised rents, and the homeowners who are selling for record profits. It is this landed class that has turned what should have been a boon for everyone into a zero sum game. Tech bros don't profit from the displacement, they pay for it too, it's the landlords and homeowners that profit. Tech bros didn't put in place the current system where there's no more construction, either, that was put in place by the landlords and homeowners so they could profit from the massive increase in land prices. Tech bros brought fantastic wealth from around the world to California, and with our gloriously high income taxes, and our taxation of capital gains as income, and we should have been able to redistribute that wealth to bring tremendous prosperity to all, eliminating homelessness, maybe even eliminating good chunks of poverty. The people who set and control this system are not the tech bros. Go ahead and hate them for good reasons, being greedy, or being ignorant, for having ugly personalities or interests, but don't blame them for displacements. The displacement it 100% on the Californians that profited from it and the class-unconscious culture warriors that did not profit, but unwittingly and stupidly supported the capitalist exploitation of labor and the displacement of those with lower incomes or who encountered hardship.
- baby 5y ago
  Law makers are the ones who should be blamed.
  - amanaplanacanal 5y ago
    Law makers pass the laws their constituents want. Blame the voters.
    - throw123123123 5y ago
      I often remark that SF and the valley are a flawed democratic institution: it has a very high immigrant population that would vote against the majority of things that get voted. Immigrants are generally tough on crime, Yimby, anti-tax, etc.
      - baby 5y ago
        Really? I’m an immigrant and I wish taxes were higher so we could get healthcare and more help for the homeless
        throw123123123 5y ago
        As a cluster immigrants are very conservative. Also makes sense to not want to get taxed on benefits you dont get.
        baby 5y ago
        Depending in your visa you actually do skip some of the taxes.
  - epistasis 5y ago
    After trying to get a bit more involved with local politics, I've come to the conclusion that we have the politicians we deserve, unfortunately. The only solution I can think of is very time consuming: start talking to lots of people, start thorough education of people about the consequences of our current course and the alternatives build coalitions, and build organic change. When it comes to national level change, Californians are typically very progressive. But when it's local change, they are the most conservative and reactionary crew I have ever encountered. Which only locks in our current course of increasing wealth inequality, increasingly unaffordable housing, and increasing homelessness right next to excessive wealth.
baby 5y ago
I don’t think you’re wrong, I’m personally part of the problem. I just think you’re barking at the wrong tree. Focus on the incentives and what make people move here and leave so quickly. If prices and safety were better people would want to stay and improve what’s around them.
- shsbdbdbx 5y ago
  I get what you are saying about incentives. You can’t really lay the blame for mass movements of people at the feet of individuals. I think that the biggest contributing factor was (1) Google’s successful execution of an ad based revenue model for the internet and (2) the launch of smart phones, and (3) MBA-ization of the valley - a shift in culture and mindset from R&D to operations. We all saw something similar in the 90s. It self corrected during the recession. While the recession wasn’t great, the early part of the recovery circa 2004 was amazing. I hate to root for anyone to lose their jobs. I would rather companies relocate people. The next boom will most likely come in crypto / blockchain after the price of Bitcoin crashes and the hucksters and hype die out. Biotech after that.

epistasis 5y ago

I wish that we had a tenth of the contempt for the landlords and homeowners that causes this as we do for the tech bros who are the symptom of the artificial scarcity. The tech bros were not the ones displacing people, it was entirely the fault of landlords who raised rents, and the homeowners who are selling for record profits. It is this landed class that has turned what should have been a boon for everyone into a zero sum game. Tech bros don't profit from the displacement, they pay for it too, it's the landlords and homeowners that profit. Tech bros didn't put in place the current system where there's no more construction, either, that was put in place by the landlords and homeowners so they could profit from the massive increase in land prices. Tech bros brought fantastic wealth from around the world to California, and with our gloriously high income taxes, and our taxation of capital gains as income, and we should have been able to redistribute that wealth to bring tremendous prosperity to all, eliminating homelessness, maybe even eliminating good chunks of poverty. The people who set and control this system are not the tech bros. Go ahead and hate them for good reasons, being greedy, or being ignorant, for having ugly personalities or interests, but don't blame them for displacements. The displacement it 100% on the Californians that profited from it and the class-unconscious culture warriors that did not profit, but unwittingly and stupidly supported the capitalist exploitation of labor and the displacement of those with lower incomes or who encountered hardship.

baby 5y ago
Law makers are the ones who should be blamed.
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  Law makers pass the laws their constituents want. Blame the voters.
  - throw123123123 5y ago
    I often remark that SF and the valley are a flawed democratic institution: it has a very high immigrant population that would vote against the majority of things that get voted. Immigrants are generally tough on crime, Yimby, anti-tax, etc.
    - baby 5y ago
      Really? I’m an immigrant and I wish taxes were higher so we could get healthcare and more help for the homeless
      - throw123123123 5y ago
        As a cluster immigrants are very conservative. Also makes sense to not want to get taxed on benefits you dont get.
        baby 5y ago
        Depending in your visa you actually do skip some of the taxes.
- epistasis 5y ago
  After trying to get a bit more involved with local politics, I've come to the conclusion that we have the politicians we deserve, unfortunately. The only solution I can think of is very time consuming: start talking to lots of people, start thorough education of people about the consequences of our current course and the alternatives build coalitions, and build organic change. When it comes to national level change, Californians are typically very progressive. But when it's local change, they are the most conservative and reactionary crew I have ever encountered. Which only locks in our current course of increasing wealth inequality, increasingly unaffordable housing, and increasing homelessness right next to excessive wealth.

baby 5y ago

I don’t think you’re wrong, I’m personally part of the problem. I just think you’re barking at the wrong tree. Focus on the incentives and what make people move here and leave so quickly. If prices and safety were better people would want to stay and improve what’s around them.

shsbdbdbx 5y ago
I get what you are saying about incentives. You can’t really lay the blame for mass movements of people at the feet of individuals. I think that the biggest contributing factor was (1) Google’s successful execution of an ad based revenue model for the internet and (2) the launch of smart phones, and (3) MBA-ization of the valley - a shift in culture and mindset from R&D to operations. We all saw something similar in the 90s. It self corrected during the recession. While the recession wasn’t great, the early part of the recovery circa 2004 was amazing. I hate to root for anyone to lose their jobs. I would rather companies relocate people. The next boom will most likely come in crypto / blockchain after the price of Bitcoin crashes and the hucksters and hype die out. Biotech after that.