San Francisco split by Silicon Valley's wealth

[Newsjock]

Source: Los Angeles Times

... The private mass transit system has become the most visible symbol of the digital gold rush sweeping this city, and of the sharpening division between those who are riding the high-tech industry's good fortunes and those who are not.

... Fueling the growing rift is a common belief that the vast wealth being amassed by the tech industry is not spilling over into the community.

... Unlike in previous booms, the tech industry isn't creating as many middle-class jobs or as much goodwill. The gap between Silicon Valley's high and low earners is widening, with average per-capita incomes going up while median household incomes have fallen for the third consecutive year, according to Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a private group that publishes an annual report card on the region.

In a region that lays claim to some of the world's wealthiest companies, food stamp participation has hit a 10-year high, and homelessness has increased 20% in the last two years, the group found.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-silicon-valley-backlash-20130814,7274675,6754834,full.story

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. I'm a SF native --

and I have never seen the economic split as intense as right now. There is an economic (and ethnic) cleansing going on -- the working class is essentially gone (unless they are like myself and living in the house they grew up in) and the middle class will quickly no longer afford to live here. If we didn't have such strong rent control laws we would be totally fucked. Another bad thing is the move to cater towards the uber wealthy and single -- shopping, eating, services, planning -- almost none of it relates to the average person. I am advertising a room for rent in my house and I got overwhelmed with responses -- people are desperate for housing. I've seen ads for studio shares, part-time "commuter" shares, houses chock full with roomies where every room including the living room are rented as bedrooms. You wanna live by yourself in a one bedroom? That's $1600 a month in the non-hip areas of town. SF has become a bedroom community for the Tuppies in SV.