Agreed. Dan’s argument is typical of what I hear from bloggers from San Francisco — very limited insight into aspects of a problem affecting an entire region, not just San Franciscans being persecuted. There are some issues unique to San Francisco compared to the greater Bay Area, sure. But rents are rising all over the Bay Area, and most cities are facing arguments over what to do about it.

The tech buses are a such a sticking point for San Francisco residents, who seem to think the buses are a symbol of Silicon Valley trying to take over the city — but these buses are going everywhere, even within Silicon Valley. And yes, there’s the argument that if it weren’t for the tech buses, more money would go into improving public transport. The problem is it takes decades for any improvements to actually come to fruition. The BART connection from Fremont to San Jose has been planned since the 90s, if not earlier, and tracks only started being put down within the last couple of years. We could wait two more decades for public transit to catch up, but instead major employers took thousands of extra cars off the road now.

The problem is the tens of thousands of new jobs and nowhere for all these new people to live. Most cities up and down the peninsula are stricken with NIMBY-ism and voters working for their own self interest. Palo Alto residents block any high density developments they can. Mountain View city council members limit new housing but promote job growth to promote their property value. Redwood City seems pretty pro- housing development downtown, but downtown business owners have worked together to block mixed use development of currently empty land along 101 near most of the jobs.