4 ms·

It's less about ideology than about the impact of entrenched power. For all the leftist rhetoric in SF, interest groups like property owner, landlords, etc., ha

It's less about ideology than about the impact of entrenched power. For all the leftist rhetoric in SF, interest groups like property owner, landlords, etc., have political power sufficient to preserve the status quo. I think the geographical constraints of SF (water all around) amplify the power of the above groups at the expense of others. Austin may have more space to gradually expand and spread out in a way that is more equitable and does not so disproportionately reward those who were there first.

georgewsinger 5y ago
That's true. But leftists are entrenched in Austin as well at the city level. I suppose, at the state level, once the state flips blue, the "default"/status-quo position will still be more low-tax/low-regulation, and that's an advantage for Texas (again speaking from a libertarian view point; I understand you won't agree if you share a different politics). It still seems to me that Austin will converge to SF, given enough time, given that the people in both cities believe the same things, and in only a few years Texas will be blue.