pirate wires #104 // looking back on proposition c, tech's san francisco turning point, "doom loop" analysis, a well-paved path to eternal homelessness, and how to solve the crisis
Too many people are cashing in on the grift, and if the problem is solved, they're out of business. There is no will to solve the problem because there is too much money involved, especially 'free' government money. It's the same problem as the medical industry. Healthy people don't require their services, only sick people. Most of America's well intentioned non-profits have turned into cash mills. The American Cancer Society comes to mind. Until our governments, local and federal, collapse under the weight of their own 'generosity' and 'caring', there will be no 'solution'. All this courtesy of one of the timeless and unassailable vices; greed.
I'm starting to feel like the resident left-leaning moderate peanut gallery of Pirate Wires, but I have to say that as a resident of SF I really don't feel the narratives around homelessness presented in this piece are reflective of the reality on the ground. I live in Bernal Heights (extremely progressive neighborhood) and I know all my neighbors - literally everyone thinks the current solutions are not working and drugs are the root cause (vibe shift has happened over the past two years). There is definitely disagreement on the approach but most people agree that law enforcement is needed in addition to treatment options and that the housing demands are not realistic. Prop C definitely was a huge mistake (even at the time I knew to vote 'no' on a stupidly written law that taxed gross receipts, thus guaranteeing any financial services company processing payments would not be able to stay) but since then I do feel like the city has started to wake up, or at least people over the age of 29 have. I most definitely do appreciate this piece for the solutions proposed and the rationale behind them. As a recovering meth addict I 100% agree anyone with addition issues needs to be completely removed from any situation where there will be drugs available... for many, many, many years (not weeks). I'll do my best to get some of these ideas into the conversation with my neighbors!
Need to flip the script and make it clear that people like Kara Swisher literally kill people.
And not in the common use of “literally kill people” where you hurt the feelings of someone who went to college for too long, but in the sense that they kick over a chain of dominoes that ends with bodies dropping in the street.
I 100% agree that an aversion to "solving the problem" is the "great, civic challenge" of our time. Very well-put.
She's that it looks like the drugs are the key.
But unfortunately if be skeptical that it would be solved in a month or two. You also probably need, on a more realistic level, to deal with mental illness and other issues. Scott Alexander wrote about the issues with homeless shelters and why the homeless don't like them, and you'd probably need to address those.
Now the amount of money spent sounds staggering, but someone, lots of someones, are getting the money and you won't just reclaim it with ease.
Correction: The absolute lowest a man should be able to fall is Marc Benioff. Getting the popcorn ready for a "digression" on Kara Swisher. The self described "liberal, lesbian Donald Trump of San Francisco" is the Prof G of Rachel Maddows.
do *you* have a masters degree in intersectionality of public works and healthiness, Solana?
...no?
Then *you* should leave this important work to the *experts*
(takes sip of $18 chai latte with ultra local almond milk delivered by Uber eats plebian who I will rant about on twitter if they dare to approach my abode without a mask on)
Wow! One (long) paragraph shows the framework to solve this blight on the city. This is the reason I subscribe to Pirate Wires - to support one of America's emerging thinkers!
Wow. I love this. Had no idea Benioff was part of the problem. He is very activist-oriented. It has backfired on him, for example when his activist employees demand Salesforce sever lucrative contracts with Customs and Border control or the NRA.
"I followed the coverage in genuine shock. How was it possible, I wondered, for Marc Benioff to receive such praise in 2023 for tackling a problem he declared public victory for solving — at something like 1,000 times the cost of his donation to the city, and with an actually incalculable cost to the technology industry — in 2018?"
Slowly, over many decades, variables in the science of communication and related fields have been eliminated. Countless experiments have led to methodologies and doctrine with tremendous predictive and probabilistic value far beyond the general public's conception of rhetorical persuasion. Figuring out how to design and implement, or counteract a strategic campaign like this requires an understanding of the interactive, motivational, and predictive elements of human nature that modern communication technology can enhance and leverage. Essential campaign elements often draw from cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology, abnormal psychology, anthropology, sociology, business, finance, mass media psychology and more.
I'd be happy to teach you how it's done. Barriers to entry in public debate are lower than ever and we have plenty of resources to make a difference.
Yes. 100% spot on but GL cutting the non-profit weasels off the IV drip of tax funds keeping them alive. You raise that army, LMK. There are a lot of people, in a lot of industries, that should be jailed for this behavior. The guy managing this same prob for Skid Row told me he calls it "poverty-pimping" and then produced the numbers LA gets for the aid vs the numbers actually spent on the people he is trying to help. They'd have to be allocating $500k per *shelter* bed. (But also he didn't get the new shelter beds - bc none of this is real.) Normalized but outrageous. Defund the gov, etc etc
I don’t disagree with any of the points Mike makes but I couldn’t be happier with Marc’s involvement with the Salvation Army. He’s seen what doesn’t work now he’s gonna see what does! The Army has 150 yrs experience working with folks in crises. This could be the start of something pretty cool. I’m hopeful.
Doom Loop
Too many people are cashing in on the grift, and if the problem is solved, they're out of business. There is no will to solve the problem because there is too much money involved, especially 'free' government money. It's the same problem as the medical industry. Healthy people don't require their services, only sick people. Most of America's well intentioned non-profits have turned into cash mills. The American Cancer Society comes to mind. Until our governments, local and federal, collapse under the weight of their own 'generosity' and 'caring', there will be no 'solution'. All this courtesy of one of the timeless and unassailable vices; greed.
Absolute banger today.
And my theory that all of the worst things in the modern world emanate from Kara Swisher, remains undefeated.
I'm starting to feel like the resident left-leaning moderate peanut gallery of Pirate Wires, but I have to say that as a resident of SF I really don't feel the narratives around homelessness presented in this piece are reflective of the reality on the ground. I live in Bernal Heights (extremely progressive neighborhood) and I know all my neighbors - literally everyone thinks the current solutions are not working and drugs are the root cause (vibe shift has happened over the past two years). There is definitely disagreement on the approach but most people agree that law enforcement is needed in addition to treatment options and that the housing demands are not realistic. Prop C definitely was a huge mistake (even at the time I knew to vote 'no' on a stupidly written law that taxed gross receipts, thus guaranteeing any financial services company processing payments would not be able to stay) but since then I do feel like the city has started to wake up, or at least people over the age of 29 have. I most definitely do appreciate this piece for the solutions proposed and the rationale behind them. As a recovering meth addict I 100% agree anyone with addition issues needs to be completely removed from any situation where there will be drugs available... for many, many, many years (not weeks). I'll do my best to get some of these ideas into the conversation with my neighbors!
Need to flip the script and make it clear that people like Kara Swisher literally kill people.
And not in the common use of “literally kill people” where you hurt the feelings of someone who went to college for too long, but in the sense that they kick over a chain of dominoes that ends with bodies dropping in the street.
I 100% agree that an aversion to "solving the problem" is the "great, civic challenge" of our time. Very well-put.
She's that it looks like the drugs are the key.
But unfortunately if be skeptical that it would be solved in a month or two. You also probably need, on a more realistic level, to deal with mental illness and other issues. Scott Alexander wrote about the issues with homeless shelters and why the homeless don't like them, and you'd probably need to address those.
Now the amount of money spent sounds staggering, but someone, lots of someones, are getting the money and you won't just reclaim it with ease.
Correction: The absolute lowest a man should be able to fall is Marc Benioff. Getting the popcorn ready for a "digression" on Kara Swisher. The self described "liberal, lesbian Donald Trump of San Francisco" is the Prof G of Rachel Maddows.
do *you* have a masters degree in intersectionality of public works and healthiness, Solana?
...no?
Then *you* should leave this important work to the *experts*
(takes sip of $18 chai latte with ultra local almond milk delivered by Uber eats plebian who I will rant about on twitter if they dare to approach my abode without a mask on)
Mike, have you ever thought about a promising career in politics, perhaps as the future mayor of San Francisco? 😉
Okay, say everyone finally admits it was a big mistake . . . can the SF Council repeal Prop C, or would that require another referendum?
Wow! One (long) paragraph shows the framework to solve this blight on the city. This is the reason I subscribe to Pirate Wires - to support one of America's emerging thinkers!
Wow. I love this. Had no idea Benioff was part of the problem. He is very activist-oriented. It has backfired on him, for example when his activist employees demand Salesforce sever lucrative contracts with Customs and Border control or the NRA.
Incredible work as always Solana. Do you have a piece specifically on kara?
Great post! I subscribed!
"I followed the coverage in genuine shock. How was it possible, I wondered, for Marc Benioff to receive such praise in 2023 for tackling a problem he declared public victory for solving — at something like 1,000 times the cost of his donation to the city, and with an actually incalculable cost to the technology industry — in 2018?"
Slowly, over many decades, variables in the science of communication and related fields have been eliminated. Countless experiments have led to methodologies and doctrine with tremendous predictive and probabilistic value far beyond the general public's conception of rhetorical persuasion. Figuring out how to design and implement, or counteract a strategic campaign like this requires an understanding of the interactive, motivational, and predictive elements of human nature that modern communication technology can enhance and leverage. Essential campaign elements often draw from cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology, abnormal psychology, anthropology, sociology, business, finance, mass media psychology and more.
I'd be happy to teach you how it's done. Barriers to entry in public debate are lower than ever and we have plenty of resources to make a difference.
Yes. 100% spot on but GL cutting the non-profit weasels off the IV drip of tax funds keeping them alive. You raise that army, LMK. There are a lot of people, in a lot of industries, that should be jailed for this behavior. The guy managing this same prob for Skid Row told me he calls it "poverty-pimping" and then produced the numbers LA gets for the aid vs the numbers actually spent on the people he is trying to help. They'd have to be allocating $500k per *shelter* bed. (But also he didn't get the new shelter beds - bc none of this is real.) Normalized but outrageous. Defund the gov, etc etc
I don’t disagree with any of the points Mike makes but I couldn’t be happier with Marc’s involvement with the Salvation Army. He’s seen what doesn’t work now he’s gonna see what does! The Army has 150 yrs experience working with folks in crises. This could be the start of something pretty cool. I’m hopeful.
Looking forward to your coverage of the Tara Swisher conversation. I can only imagine...