Hacker Read

ScottBurson · 2016-09-25 19:37:01+00:00

The situation is getting crazy enough in the Bay Area that one can perhaps begin to have some hope of a countervailing political pressure building. See my longer post elsewhere on the page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12576948

kodah | karma 9624 | avg karma 3.59 · | 2022-05-18 17:15:29

This is already happening in the Bay Area (more or less)

ridewinter | karma 158 | avg karma 0.9 · | 2019-10-16 22:15:44

Nice, concise & persuasive article. Do you think the political environment in the Bay Area is ripe for it?

winkeltripel | karma 400 | avg karma 2.47 · | 2021-03-13 18:53:05+00:00

But this is what's been happening. It's happening in the bay area too.

a2xd94 | karma 51 | avg karma 2.55 · | 2023-09-09 16:23:04

I think the last several years have clearly proven that SF's polarized politics are absolutely no good at solving any problems and quite good at creating countless new ones, so it would be ridiculous for the rest of the Bay Area to follow them.

PragmaticPulp | karma 66674 | avg karma 12.83 · | 2021-01-14 17:08:47+00:00

Anecdotally, my Bay Area friends are all excited about the prospect of decreasing pressure on their cities.

Plenty of people still want to be in the Bay Area. The previous situation was far too oversubscribed for the amount of space and housing available. Release some of that pressure and the city could become more attractive again. They will still need to solve the crime issues, though.

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beatpanda | karma 1786 | avg karma 2.49 · | 2015-07-18 07:56:43+00:00

How much of this is caused by the absurd economic pressure in the Bay Area?

all_factz | karma 145 | avg karma 2.46 · | 2019-10-24 14:05:25+00:00

I’ve lived in the SF Bay Area pretty much my whole life and I just want to say you hit the nail on the head. Do you know of any politicians who are working to make this happen? I’m pretty liberal, but I sometimes feel we live in such a bubble here that even ideas like these are a third rail...

pcwalton | karma 42908 | avg karma 5.48 · | 2017-05-10 00:52:55+00:00

The obvious counterargument is that the Bay Area has been trying exactly what you propose for years, and the result has been a crisis instead of a shifting of gravity to other locations.

1_2__3 | karma 1658 | avg karma 3.8 · | 2016-08-25 19:28:58

This is exactly what is happening. The whole South Bay is slowly imploding.

gfodor | karma 18859 | avg karma 3.92 · | 2020-05-12 17:06:33

Downward pressure on bay area burbs because of people leaving, but upwards pressure potentially due to the exodus of SF as people start to want more separation from people. Time will tell.

lazide | karma 9657 | avg karma 1.51 · | 2023-11-10 14:32:02

Welcome to the Bay Area. It’s clearly starting to hit its peak insanity (this cycle) though.

stcredzero | karma 37049 | avg karma 2.13 · | 2014-03-19 07:32:57+00:00

IMHO, It's a much bigger problem in the Bay Area than most other places in the country.

sigzero | karma 4147 | avg karma 1.62 · | 2021-12-28 17:06:55

Yup, the political train-wreck is what caused the Bay Area issues.

RickJWagner | karma 10011 | avg karma 2.41 · | 2019-12-10 13:01:40+00:00

It's crazy. The Bay Area used to be probably the most desirable place in the world. Now it's descended into something much, much worse.

It's hard to see how the descent can stop. Short of very firm "cleanup" measures, things will probably get worse. But a great many of the citizens would oppose such measures.

I usually see things in a positive light, but this is a hard one. I'd love to be wrong and see the Bay Area thriving in 20 years.

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IndianAstronaut | karma 1451 | avg karma 1.47 · | 2014-11-27 03:54:51+00:00

Oh wow, I am very surprised nothing has been done about this. People in the bay are very politically active.

fsociety | karma 1685 | avg karma 2.6 · | 2023-08-03 08:13:29

It’s not just the Bay Area experiencing this.

pascalxus | karma 2481 | avg karma 2.19 · | 2017-09-14 22:20:01

It sure would!

Unfortunately, At this point, the only politically feasible option is to escape the bay area.

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jseliger | karma 85544 | avg karma 6.77 · | 2021-12-28 18:04:42

The Bay Area seems to have a lot of cognitive dissonance, where the statements made don't seem to even remotely match the reality on the ground or the policies pursued: https://jakeseliger.com/2018/08/19/what-santa-barbara-says/

sirkneeland | karma 1486 | avg karma 2.97 · | 2013-12-09 16:50:19

between Nimbys and public sector unions and the fact that the Bay Area is essentially under one-party rule...no. It's just not going to happen. Private initiatives are the only hope.