I caught a documentary on HBO this morning called San Francisco 2.0.

It is from 2015 but I’ve never seen (or heard of) it before.  This is the trailer:

The synopsis from HBO doesn’t do it justice.

San Francisco has long enjoyed a reputation as the counterculture capital of America, attracting bohemians, mavericks, progressives and activists. With the onset of the digital gold rush, young members of the tech elite are flocking to the West Coast to make their fortunes, and this new wealth is forcing San Francisco to reinvent itself. But as tech innovations lead America into the golden age of digital supremacy, is it changing the heart and soul of their adopted city?

It is directed by Alexandria Pelosi, who is Nancy Pelosi’s daughter.

So why do I think it is so amazing.  It is 100% pure communist propaganda.

She interviews working class people who do nothing but complain how the “greedy landlords just want more money” and so are using the Ellis Act to evict tenants and sell their properties at market rate for millions of dollars.

Every long time San Francisco resident she interviews complains about the tech people and the coffee shops that are displacing the “heart and soul” of the city.  Forgetting that the heart and soul of the city is synonymous with open air drug use, highly fetishized gay sex, and vandalism.  I don’t care if you have a Caesar Chavez, MLK, and Malcom X standing under a rainbow, when it’s painted on a wall without consent of the owner, it’s vandalism.

Every person interviewed, including the former mayor of the city and the Lt. Governor, Gavin Newsom openly complain about capitalism ruining the city.

The popular sentiment by elected officials was that the tech companies and techies “are not giving enough back to the city.”

One former mayor actually said “it’s not enough to create jobs and pay taxes” the have to take “social responsibility” too.

The idea that is reinforced by every interview is that San Francisco is some sort of special place where money doesn’t matter as much as “culture” and it should somehow be exempted from the regular laws of economics.  Landlords and property owners should rent to people at orders of magnitude below market rate, because…. they should.

Some old guy was interviewed and he’s mad that he has 30 years experience and two degrees but can’t get work with a tech company and has to live in a shitty apartment.  He said “the American dream is dead and it’s now a nightmare.”  But everything he knows is obsolete.  He failed to stay relevant.  That’s his fault.

Of course, there was a racial aspect to it where most of the long term residents complain about the influx of “young white men” and how that is killing the city.

One person complained that the city was turning into Venezuela, with a small population of rich and a large base that can barely afford to live there.

Yes it is and it is because the people of San Francisco have gone down the same path that led the people of Venezuela to elect Chavez the first time around.  They though the laws of economics didn’t apply to them.

No one talked about how hard it is to build new homes in San Francisco and how all the rules and regulations designed to maintain the “heart and soul” constrain the market.  No one made the argument that rent control means that landlords lose money on homes and it is in their best interests to sell the building if they can’t charge rent that allows them to cover expenses.

San Francisco is falling apart because the people there are socialists to the core.

I hope the tech industry buys every square foot of livable space and these people end up homeless.

Why?  Because I’m a mean bastard who believes that if you don’t understand the laws of economics, I want reality to run over you like a damn freight train.