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What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat. They can just BUY the city government they want. Ins
by papito 3y ago
What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat. They can just BUY the city government they want.
Instead, they are shoving mountains of cash to turn the United States into some perverted libertarian fantasy, where the government is weak, paralyzed, ineffectual, and out of their way OH WAIT.
- paxys 3y agoDo you think any "valley gazillionaires" are living in the tenderloin?
- papito 3y agoOf course not, I was going to say that, actually - they live on protected, isolated compounds. Logically they should not care about what is happening elsewhere, right? But they do, just not the stuff in their backyard. There are woke people in New York, you see! And they are the real concern.
- bombcar 3y agoYou can see where it's headed by looking at some of the cities in Brazil or Johannesburg. When you have money for security and the ability to travel in what are effectively armored cars, the rest of the city can go to hell.
- quickthrower2 3y agoDon’t you then lose out on something. Feels akin to living in a covid lockdown for life. And a monoculture. What I like about Sydney for example is you can go anywhere and feel safe and do stuff.
- bombcar 3y agoI agree, but some people seem not to - what they apparently do is create safe "enclaves" where they can wander around and pretend not to see the abject poverty right next door.
- dopidopHN 3y agoWhat politicien in this country want a strong, in your face government ? I would like to vote for that person. Because all I saw so far, including far away from CA, is what you are describing as a valley phénomène.
- capableweb 3y ago> What amazes me is that the Valley gazillionaires are not spending their fortunes to fix their own habitat The habitat of the gazillionaires is not the same as the habitat of the people experiencing the issues facing the city. In order to become a gazillionaire, you need to be at least a bit selfish, so if you're selfish, why would you spend your money fixing other peoples habitat?
- throwaway6734 3y agoThey can't buy the government they want. They'd dump tons of money into candidates that would get crushed due to the insane progressive tilt of most SF voters or they'd get in for a term or two, which is not enough time
- flangola7 3y agoWhy would progressives not vote for policies that expand housing and provide direct assistance and funding to the homeless?
- throwaway6734 3y agoPolicies are generally not that clean cut and clear. Many progressives already fight against policies that would increase housing (like adding overly burdensome restrictions to the development process)
- flangola7 3y ago> Policies are generally not that clean cut and clear. Policy clearness is a legislative choice. If someone tries to mail a bomb to the White House the policies are very unambiguous about what happens next. > Many progressives already fight against policies that would increase housing (like adding overly burdensome restrictions to the development process) Liberals maybe, not progressives.
- ihaveajob 3y agoMr "It's time to build" and spouse went out of their way to lobby their city against a proposed multi-family housing project. That says it all.
- jl2718 3y agoSuch statements confuse me. Let’s go point by point on this: 1. How does one “buy” a government? With bond purchases? With campaign contributions? With voter fraud? And in the chosen case, what powers would they gain to “fix their habitat”? 2. Which valley “gazillionaire” is actively spending money in any way that doesn’t align with progressive politics and larger stronger less-accountable government? For the purposes of this question, anybody invested in Palantir is ineligible. 3. What “their way” would a strong government be “in”? What specific harm to whom are you suggesting? 4. If they have infinite power over government, why do you think they would be happy to have it “out of their way” versus active assistance? 5. If we observe that “the government” is quite powerful at the present moment, then how do you resolve the contradiction. Are they wasting their money?
- pandaman 3y agoWhat makes you think they have not done that already and what we are seeing is not their desired state of affairs? It's not that Zuckerberg or Brin, for example, take BART or need to fend off the deranged junkie who camps in the entrance to their apartment every night.