Silicon Valley is the home to tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google. It’s also home to a surging working homeless population who live in dilapidated RV’s, tents, and their own cars, all thanks to the policies Democrats love to implement.
The surging number of those working in Silicon Valley and still unable to afford adequate housing should be a warning about big government, but it sure doesn’t seem like anyone is taking notice as their taxes continue to rise. As governments creep toward socialism though, poverty becomes the norm, not the exception. Silicon Valley has the highest median income in the nation. But a soaring tax burden and expensive regulations have caused housing prices to increase which has also caused homelessness to surge.
More than 10,000 people were living without shelter across San Jose and Santa Clara Counties on any given night in 2016, though that figure is probably low. Thanks to big government, the cost of living is not low. An influx of tech workers along with decades of under-building (thanks again to the regulations of big government) has created a historic homelessness in the Bay Area.
The governments in California continue to attempt to control deadly Hepatitis A outbreaks caused by a booming homeless population and usually do so by taking even more from those who actually work. The cycle will continue: socialists governments will put a cheap band-aid on the gaping wound they created themselves.
Rather than freeing poor people from dependence on benefactors and bosses, they merely transfer the dependence to the state, leaving the least politically connected people at the mercy of the political process. – FEE
The one thing government has are programs to help those in poverty. But those have proven ineffective. And the one thing that will work is the very thing government refuses to do: Climb off the backs of those they pretend they want to help.
Progressives routinely deplore the “affordable housing crisis” in American cities. But it is the very laws that Progressives favor—land-use policies, zoning codes, and building codes—that ratchet up housing costs, stand in the way of alternative housing options, and confine poor people to ghetto neighborhoods. Historically, when they have been free to do so, poor people have happily disregarded the ideals of political humanitarians and found their own ways to cut housing costs, even in bustling cities with tight housing markets. – FEE
Imagine just how much more money the working poor would have if the big government in California wasn’t stealing over half their income to implement the very rules and laws that continue to make “scraping by” even more expensive.
See what California……then do the opposite.
The problem with Democrats is after they screw up their own liberal state they go to another state and infect them too.
Colorado is the perfect example. Conservative for YEARS then turned pot smoking liberals. Now you can’t even collect the rain in Colorado. What a mess.
Due to the massive fires and destruction in California, there will be a lot less available housing – whether affordable or expensive.
wow, some of those kalifornication McMansions are worth more than my house even after they are burned down.
California Democrats are ruining the entire Pacific Northwest. They won’t stop until the entire country is cesspool.
I watched it happen. My wife is a native of CO and I’ve lived there twice, the last being ’98 – ’08. I saw the influx of Commiefornians and the beginning of the political shift. Moved back to Texas in ’08 only to see them start moving here and try to change the politics. All the major cities in TX are ruled by Dems except Ft. Worth and they are working hard to make TX a blue state of ruin.
Same with Nevada and Idaho.
+ Washington and Oregon.
i was in oregon my first 21 years…i saw the infection FIRSTHAND.
And Virginia. Long time back, Michigan was a great place, too. Then libs moved in.
They always hang out in the big cities of various states. Can we just trim off those cities as they become dumps? Let them be their own state or territory and let the rest of us live in peace.
Like the author of this s***, you are completely misguided.
The reason for this condition, is more fundamental, and not your ideological rant against government.
what is wrong with living outside in the great outdoors? some people pay good money to go tent camping. the best part is pooping on your neighbors lawn wiping your a$$ on the grass like fido.
See what California does…then do the opposite.
Life is hard, it’s even harder if your stupid!
“John Wayne”
The first thing they need to do is get all of the homeless people registered to vote (at least once if not multiple times) and then provide outlays from the treasury to buy their votes for the Democrats. After that the Democrat administration needs to provide each of the homeless their own shopping cart (confiscated from local retailers) too keep their possessions in. It is a basic human right for the Government to provide every homeless person the latest Apple I-phone with unlimited text and data which requires the Government to hire an army of otherwise unemployable social workers to implement the Democrat’s policy.
If that picture is really one of some digi/IT-tech’s home camp….. it sure explains why Facebook, Google, Apple and all the rest of those companies produce such garbage. It begs the question to all those liberal climate change persons, “who cleans up and protests the ones who are involved in all the environmentalists and protesters?”. quis custodiet ipsos custodes
That is a picture of one of the ‘clean’ campsites.
You should get a look at the dirty ones!
My first thought was, I bet this is where the Democrats found the guy to create the first Obamacare website.
California = Venezuela
Next question
As a native Californian who is NOT a democrat I object to all the stereotypes from the yokels on this site. At one time EVERYONE wanted to come here. What ruined the state was Teddy Kennedy’s immigration policies and influx of New Yorkers, etc. It is still beautiful, and yes you can still “surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon,” but we certainly need to deport deport deport. I do not spend money in “sanctuary cities” like San Fran Freako (which is a once beautiful city ruined by gentrification and liberalism). I live in a rural area. If all the east coasters and Mexicans left, we would have dry lawns but lots of space! LOL
Stormy, I was originally born in SF myself. So I hear you. Native California’s (e.g. North state folks) are NOT leftist, nor are Native Californians. You are 100% correct that eliminating the New Yorkers, illegals, etc, would make it a wonderful state. So, really, my slam is on leftists, not the state.
Ya F you douche bags that are always crapping on kommifornia! It’s tha ahole politicians that Have F-ed up the place! All the greedy corksuckers once they are done F-ing up California their gonna go to the shit holes you live in! Tired of all the kommiefornia bashing on this site! You niggas are pissed cause you can’t afford to live here!
Son, you need help. Your vocabulary is horrible, and you would be surprised at what people can afford.
didnt realize i needed to be grammatically correct to address California bashing douche bags. I really could careless what you can or can’t afford. But I must have a little to close to home for ya???? Try picking up recyclables??? like cans!grammar douche
well SOMEBODY KEEPs electing the cacksuckers, no?
Errata: should be Silicon, not Silicone. That’s further south, in breast implant heaven Hollywierd
When will these dumb asses learn that their Marxist utopia does not and will not ever exist. California will soon look like Venezuela, and if we don’t stop these people so will the rest of the country.
Obama BLOCKED deportation of 550,000 illegals, more than Atlanta’s population
“U.S. immigration officials have revealed that they face a deportation backlog of 550,000 illegal immigrants who were given temporary amnesty by former President Obama or simply let off the hook by liberal judges.”
“Under Obama, many deportation actions were delayed starting in 2014.”
“a third factor in the build up of deportation orders is because some 300 sanctuary cities refused to let ICE officers into city jails to seize illegals.”
“There has to be a consequence and a deterrence to illegal activity or the illegal activity won’t stop…”
ht tp://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-blocked-deportation-of-550000-illegals-more-than-atlantas-population/article/2642694
Direct link…
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-blocked-deportation-of-550000-illegals-more-than-atlantas-population/article/2642694
It is time to put aside polite talk and cut to the chase: the reason for being loose with immigration is so two goals are accomplished: 1) there is a steady supply of dumb, cheap labor; 2) there is a steady supply of hungry, desperate young pussy from the third world.
Rather than do this in a disorganised and dirty and diseased fashion (as we do today), why not instead make it above board? Issue temporary visas and other biodata tagged temporary access permits that keep the labor supply coming. As for the young women, if they can find a match, then let them marry and move on to citizenship, but otherwise, they can have fun on a “Sexual Services Female Work Permit” for a couple of years and then go home.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…..Frank, so sick but so funny…I assume you have traveled overseas where the gorgeous ladies actually appreciate being told they are gorgeous versus the American hags with a chip on the old shoulder
The liberal politicians in California have been studying how the Chavez/Maduro government in Venezuela have been getting things done. They can kiss my white privileged ass.
“They can kiss my white privileged ass.”
This is what I do when I confront these types of undesirables.
I show them my WHITE UNION PRIVILEGED CARD – Local 404
They examine it – I usually get a dirty look – then I tell them to lower their tone, mind their own damn business and know your place. ツ
That’s right. Black is beautiful, tan is grand, but white is the color of the big boss man!
No issue with the reporting. From what I hear it’s all true.
I do want to point out though that it’s “Silicon Valley”. Silicon is what computer chips are made from. Silicone is what fake breasts are made from.
looks like a third world country, by the looks of that tent dump they Shouldn’t be tenets anyway. Just because times are hard dosent mean you have to waller in filth. There are some homless tents near chattanooga that look like long term campers. At some point someone trained them how to use a trash bag.
Barry Hussein O’Banana was about the worst thing that happened to this country.Wake up America. the country is falling apart and more and more of the “free” citizens are utterly broke and totally have to live paycheck to paycheck – completely unacceptable and disgusting!
Damn straight! I have worked in many third world countries. You couldn’t put a piece of paper between him and the average third world dictator (Mugabe etc.). He acted exactlly like they always do: lots of hot left-wing rhetoric, lots of robbery and looting to hand the cash to their immediate family and cronies. It is a playbook and it works.
California is a hellhole!Illegals get away with murder, work under the table, run a cash only side gig, make cheese in their bathtub and sell it at the swap meet on weekends. In spite of the underground economy they operate in, the use their EBT cards at Walmart, get free healthcare through Medi-Cal, get Section 8 rent assistance, and free education for their kids, all at taxpayers expense. California is the “promised land” for illegals, especially with all the sanctuary cities. Mexicans are taking back California, one illegal alien at a time. This will push out and marginalize the blacks even more. Two recent cases of illegals commiting murder in my area, barely made the news. One illegal alien ex-felon killed a guy in a hotel room, and another illegal alien ex-felon decapitated a woman. Several years ago, an illegal alien in this city sexually assaulted a handicapped woman in a wheelchair and then set her on fire. But keep in mind, they only come here for jobs to provide for their families.
I left exactly one year ago December 5th. Gave it a go for 5 years. Just could not afford to stay even thou I had a $100+K income. Its a trap that you can’t get out of no matter how much you make.
I visit San Jose a couple of times a year, and beyond the tech, it is a hellhole. I walk the Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek areas and the homeless problem is evident. One other thing that isn’t mentioned, is the number of Indians living in Silicon Valley because of employment with the tech companies. I guess those are jobs Americans can’t or won’t do, so the companies have to bring in workers from India. Check the movies listings in San Jose, CA from your computer and see how many Bollywood movies come up.
Silicone Valley’s ‘Working Homeless’ Shows How Hard Life Is In “Democrat’s Paradise”
This is not just a California thing – it’s a USA thing.
It’s everywhere and the Homeless numbers increase every year.
While business’s continue to close their doors … jobs continue to disappear … and unemployment checks run out. America will continue to deteriorate.
locally I have never seen so many homeless people on the street as lately. They are everywhere they can gather the local police report they number several years worth of homeless in one year. landlords are evicting long term tenants on pretexts and then raising the rent for new renters. With both people working two jobs people can barely pay the rents let alone live a nornal life. 10% rent increases per year are common. many friends have left the state. Mean while new houses are required now to be set up for solar power and have to have electric car charging stations. How do low income people pay for electric cars? mean while we are taxed to pay for more illegals who need housing and take jobs
Silicon Valley is home to some corporations that discriminate against Americans and only hire illegal aliens.
I lived in San Diego for 5 yrs and 16 yrs in Silicon Valley before moving out of CA.
The reason they “under-build”, as stated in the article, is because a good percentage of the land in SV is not buildable.
It has to do with soil liquefaction + earthquakes.
That means a good percentage of the land is not considered shale rock-solid buildable land, and by building in these areas, although they are beautiful pieces of land, liquefaction would occur during an earthquake greater than 5.0. and the house would not be habitable. In addition to the liquefaction issue, the fault line runs along the outskirts of Silicon Valley. It’s right there.
There’s just a lot of empty land there that they cannot build any structure on, and for that reason, and sometimes also because of the risk of fires as well.
While it may appear they under-build, I assure you that is incorrect.
I have seen them wipe out 4 generations of 60-acre cherry orchards to build over-crowded over-priced townhouse communities, units on top of each other, and I have seen them disassemble children’s playgrounds and adjacent grassy fields just to build a 50-unit apartment building with a small parking lot, no pool, and nowhere to walk.
The average rent in Silicon Valley is $3,200 per month and climbing, and there’s no such thing as a house under $1 million. A 2-bedroom 1-bath condo sells for around $900K.
So these engineers may make between $80K and $150K, but they either can’t afford the exorbitant rent or they can’t save for a down-payment on a house. Or both. They just can’t justify throwing that kind of money away every month on rent, basically flushing it down the drain.
So they work steadily for 5 or so yrs, and live rent-free in their Van or RV, and with the money they save on rent and housing costs, they instead save up for a down-payment on a house and move to an area/state where their tech skills are in demand and the cost of housing is reasonable.
Two comments:
1. One partial solution to housing issue is to drop restrictions against more than 3 unrelated people living in a home, and allow people to rent room–as recently enforced against one I know.
2. Article mixes up Silicone–an artificial rubber–with Silicon–a semiconductor element key to modern electronics. San Jose-Santa Clara is SILICON valley, not a rubber. Almost did not glance beyond title as misuse of these words in the press often advertises poor journalism.
This has happened for years.
I knew people at Genetech(biotech)
that parked their RVs in the
Genetech parking lot. worked
lots of overtime and commuted home
to large farms or ranches on the weekend.
My Uncle in Orange county Ford Aeronutroincs
did this.
I worked with a guy at Hughes aircraft,
that lived on a boat in Marina del Ray,
and on Friday evening jumped into his
Piper aircraft and flew home to his
ranch near Yosemite.
Buy used stuff, fix it up, and
commute.
“Buy used, learn to fix and use it.” The answer to most of our modern problems. Why does EVERYTHING have to be brand-new? Why do you HAVE to have the latest I-phone? I use a Trac-Fone I bought seven(that’s right- SEVEN) years ago and it still dials and rings and texts like it did brand new. Trac-Fone has a deal that uses ANY available celltower to complete their calls. Twenty dollars for 120 minutes every 90 days and the minutes roll over. Why buy anything else? My newest car is a 1996 Taurus that I maintain myself with a service manual from Autozone Parts. No loan payments and insurance and taxes are nearly zilch.
Get over it, people. The solution is in your mirror, if you bother to take the trouble. No other solution offers itself and you had better start building your self-sufficiency skills now, because the alternative is not to be contemplated.
great ideas, rellik!
“Buy used, learn to fix and use it.” The answer to most of our modern problems. Why does EVERYTHING have to be brand-new? Why do you HAVE to have the latest I-phone? I use a Trac-Fone I bought seven(that’s right- SEVEN) years ago and it still dials and rings and texts like it did brand new. Trac-Fone has a deal that uses ANY available celltower to complete their calls. Twenty dollars for 120 minutes every 90 days and the minutes roll over. Why buy anything else? My newest car is a 1996 Taurus that I maintain myself with a service manual from Autozone Parts. No loan payments and insurance and taxes are nearly zilch.
Get over it, people. The solution is in your mirror, if you bother to take the trouble. No other solution offers itself and you had better start building your self-sufficiency skills now, because the alternative is not to be contemplated.
Good post Diogenes! I have NEVER bought a new vehicle and I fix most things myself. Buying NEW shit is a bad waste of $. I have the cheapest flip phone I can get (that works with my amplifier at the cabin) and have no text either. I have a used house, used vehicles, used tv, used comp, no credit cards, debt free, mechanical knowledge, work less than 6 months a year, life is GOOOOD!