The problem is that the solutions that SF is doing to reduce poverty and inequality are blind to unintended consequences, even when they cause the opposite of t

The problem is that the solutions that SF is doing to reduce poverty and inequality are blind to unintended consequences, even when they cause the opposite of the intended goal. Sure, less prosecution means less ruined lives for convicted criminals... but it also leads to much more crime, and it is hard to argue that (unless you change the definition of crime/crime reporting, which is exactly SF's move here). Anyone who has lived in SF for 10+ years can see the marked difference across the board for things like car break-ins and store theft. This isn't just one-off "anecdotal" evidence but across the board changes. Walgreen's is a good example - the store near me had very little crime at one point, then crime increased: brazen theft, roving groups of teenagers locusting the store repeatedly, holdups at gunpoint, more and more things put behind glass, employees quitting after being threatened repeatedly, a security guard getting hired by the store... next is store closing and I am not surprised so many in worse areas have closed and are closing. But we measure reported crimes so they optimize for that, not actually making anything better for anyone. If the DA won't prosecute, the cops don't arrest anyone - no reason for them to bother. And if the cops won't show up, the store won't bother reporting it. And because the gov't can play the media game with fudged numbers, hey our plan is working. But anyone remotely close to the situation can see the causal reality of this whole mess. Most of this comes down to arrogance of policymakers/sympathizers who think they know what people want are need. It is a lot of white knighting. If you haven't actually been poor or been part of a poor environment, you end up looking at stats and trying to "save" people with policy, but ignoring people's desire for independence. People do not steal apples from Walgreen's because they are starving. How things actually work is people go rob Walgreen's for razor blades and shampoo, then go sell them to neighbors at a discount - cash is the goal and cash is freedom. People buy stolen goods because they are cheap and they need cash for other things. What nobody wants is to fill out forms in triplicate to be told which government shampoo they are allowed to have for free - that makes people feel like shit across the board.