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Comment by sys_64738 | Hacker News Reader

I always wonder how those who are not in the high paying jobs can afford to live there. I'm talking about police, fire, EMS, coffeehouse workers, etc.

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They don’t. For example in nearby Atherton the cops have made makeshift sleeping quarters in the police station because they cannot afford to live in the city they work. Many of the homeless in tents or RVs have jobs in the city, the sole reason they’re homeless is because there are no homes affordable on a low-wage job.

Why aren't these people out in the streets protesting this? It seems so wrong

It takes a while before you relize it's wrong and unsubstainable. And then it's too late becouse you have been a waitress or what ever for 3 years and when you move out there are plenty of people willing to take your place before they realize it and so on. Big city hype.

And there are some real natives with rent control housing.

I lived in Palo Alto for half a year before I even though about how the grocery store clerks could affor living there (which they don't). You also notice the lack of children after a while.

You do hope that first responders can live permanently close to the district they serve. It doesn't do anybody any good if they had to travel two hours before doing their job. Police, fire, EMTs, etc, are the folks we need to be on their game all the time for their safety and ours.

Rent control. If you live in a unit constructed before a certain year, you have rent control and the landlord is limited to a small increase in rent each year.

If you have been living in same place for years it's possible your rent is less than half as much as someone who moved into a similar unit this year.

The other case is that people not in high paying jobs don't live there and instead live far away and have 1 hour plus commutes.

Policemen make six figures. Others commute from 2 hours in.

To be fair, police (and firefighters) make six figures because they have powerful unions who finance the campaigns of the very people who decide their salaries. Ironic that the people charged with protecting our communities are the ones destroying them.

I can't blame them. They need living income. The only people destroying this place are NIMBYs who won't allow faster construction of more units.

Ultimately businesses have to relocate to find talent. Seattle, Austin, NYC and Boston are super well-positioned. Amazon HQ2 is important for this very reason. It is a gigantic churner of talent and can do wonders.

I am very curious as to what they are going to do for revenue when the self driving cars take over and prevent the millions of dollars in fines drives acquire each year.

I wonder how self-driving cars would change parking situation. SF profits a lot from parking tickets - about $300m/year - and the situation with parking is usually abysmal, which in turn enhances that income. But if you can just have you car drive somewhere by itself to remote parking and then have it come back when needed... that changes the whole equation.

I'm not sure how paying policemen a wage that allows them to live where they work is destroying the community.

They risk life and limb for the betterment of the community, I think they deserve 6 figures more than a techworker at facebook if you wanted to get moral about it.

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