5 ms·

Part of the reason, I think, is that the modern talent extraction system didn't exist then. Think of standardized testing and the education industrial complex a

Part of the reason, I think, is that the modern talent extraction system didn't exist then. Think of standardized testing and the education industrial complex as a kind of strip mining operation. Many of the most capable people are identified before they're adults and then relocated to certain specific institutions, locations, and careers. The result is that the places and subcultures they leave behind fail to thrive in a thousand small ways, the cumulative effects of which are obvious. In 1900, lots of the people who today are 10x programmers in SF were farmers and small business owners in small towns or rural areas. When you look back at some of the things they figured out and built, you see a level of talent that most of their modern successors lack.

cscurmudgeon 4y ago
A big factor is modern government corruption. Try starting a restaurant in SF vs getting a job as a programmer. https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/how-san-francisco-s-lengthy-permitting-process-enables-corruption/article_0f3edfb6-7e37-5e27-8557-efd257a4e4c0.html https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/how-san-francisco-s-leng... https://sfist.com/2021/06/25/disgraced-ex-dbi-inspector-approved-shady-ridiculously-unsafe-permits-all-over-town/ https://sfist.com/2021/06/25/disgraced-ex-dbi-inspector-appr... https://sf.eater.com/2017/6/27/15733554/cost-open-restaurant-robin-adam-tortosa-san-francisco https://sf.eater.com/2017/6/27/15733554/cost-open-restaurant...
- alephnerd 4y ago
  Corruption was WAY worse back then. Hell, the examples provided are way less crazy than graft scandals and mafia wars from the time period you are looking at with rose tinted glasses [0] [0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_graft_trials https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_graft_trials [1] - https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/S-F-corruption-machine-humming-along-before-6378193.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/S-F-corruption-... [2] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars
  - cscurmudgeon 4y ago
    Main difference, corruption didn't put artificial barriers for new business. Remember, politicians back then enacted anti trust laws. You can't expect similar courage in 2023.
    - alephnerd 4y ago
      Try opening a small business in NYC in the early 20th century without paying off Tammany Hall or the same in SF without paying Ruef
      - cscurmudgeon 4y ago
        So govt has now replaced the role of organized crime and protection rackets. It seems like you are supporting my point.

cscurmudgeon 4y ago

A big factor is modern government corruption. Try starting a restaurant in SF vs getting a job as a programmer. https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/how-san-francisco-s-lengthy-permitting-process-enables-corruption/article_0f3edfb6-7e37-5e27-8557-efd257a4e4c0.html https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/how-san-francisco-s-leng... https://sfist.com/2021/06/25/disgraced-ex-dbi-inspector-approved-shady-ridiculously-unsafe-permits-all-over-town/ https://sfist.com/2021/06/25/disgraced-ex-dbi-inspector-appr... https://sf.eater.com/2017/6/27/15733554/cost-open-restaurant-robin-adam-tortosa-san-francisco https://sf.eater.com/2017/6/27/15733554/cost-open-restaurant...

alephnerd 4y ago
Corruption was WAY worse back then. Hell, the examples provided are way less crazy than graft scandals and mafia wars from the time period you are looking at with rose tinted glasses [0] [0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_graft_trials https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_graft_trials [1] - https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/S-F-corruption-machine-humming-along-before-6378193.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/S-F-corruption-... [2] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars
- cscurmudgeon 4y ago
  Main difference, corruption didn't put artificial barriers for new business. Remember, politicians back then enacted anti trust laws. You can't expect similar courage in 2023.
  - alephnerd 4y ago
    Try opening a small business in NYC in the early 20th century without paying off Tammany Hall or the same in SF without paying Ruef
    - cscurmudgeon 4y ago
      So govt has now replaced the role of organized crime and protection rackets. It seems like you are supporting my point.