7 ms·

I don't live in Sf but its city government sure sounds dysfunctional, more so than most cities at least.

by george88b 13y ago

mahyarm 13y ago
One of the most dysfunctional in america.
- sirkneeland 13y ago
  Indeed. It baffles me when anyone tries to uphold San Francisco as a model of progressive good governance. SF succeeds in spite of its government, not because of it. Basically it is fortunate to have great weather and an abundance of wealthy educated people who can absorb the insanely high cost of living and tax structure and still have enough left over to pay their way past the lackluster public services they get for all that tax money.
spikels 13y ago
You got that right but I'll hold my rant for another day.
wyclif 13y ago
SF is the NIMBY capital of America for a reason. Loads of people who can't seem to understand why housing prices keep rising while they simultaneously ensure that no new housing can be built.
- littledot5566 13y ago
  For ESL: NIMBY Not In My Back Yard; someone who opposes anything built right by where they live. NIMBYs cause a lot of things to not get done.
- walshemj 13y ago
  The FIOS (FTC) role out was objected to in certain posh parts of London because the residents objected to "the ugly green cabinets" Apparently the second assistant nanny complained that it was hard to maneuver the giant buggy/prams around :-) BT said ok no FTC for you then and went off and did other less precious areas
  - rwmj 13y ago
    Tell me about it! In our village, FTTC has been delayed at least 2 years because one NIMBY bstard didn't want his view of the field in front of his house to be obscured by a larger cabinet. He's already got a cab in front of his house, just didn't want one perhaps 8 inches taller. That's one man holding back progress for thousands.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
nostromo 13y ago
http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-12-16/news/the-worst-run-big-city-in-the-u-s/full/ http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-12-16/news/the-worst-run-big-ci...
- rosser 13y ago
  Thank you for that link. I was trying to find it when another discussion about the idiocy of SF city government came up on HN a few weeks back. Folks, it really is this bad.
Shivetya 13y ago
Oh I can name a few more dysfunctional cities, Detroit comes to mind. Is a city dysfunctional because it fails one segment of its population? Lets face it, high speed internet is not going to appeal or be used by many in any city. Yes there are those who will, but we tend to vastly over estimate the impact the net has on those who are poverty line or lower.
- rayiner 13y ago
  Is Detroit more dysfunctional adjusted for economic condition? Because even a well-run city would be in a bad situation if the local economy declined, for unrelated structural reasons, the way it has in Detroit.
  - crusso 13y ago
    Cart, Horse
  - danielweber 13y ago
    The Free Press had a long-form history about Detroit's mistakes and missed opportunities. http://www.freep.com/interactive/article/20130915/NEWS01/130801004/Detroit-Bankruptcy-history-1950-debt-pension-revenue http://www.freep.com/interactive/article/20130915/NEWS01/130... I like to point out "Pension officials handed out about $1 billion in bonuses from the city’s two pension funds to retirees and active city workers from 1985 to 2008" but there's a lot of other stuff in there. Detroit had some trouble baked into the cards back in the 1950's, when they were a geographically big city with corresponding fixed costs that would have trouble dealing with any decline in population, but it didn't have to be anywhere near as bad as it was.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Yes, it is.

I don't live in Sf but its city government sure sounds dysfunctional, more so than most cities at least.

mahyarm 13y ago

One of the most dysfunctional in america.

sirkneeland 13y ago
Indeed. It baffles me when anyone tries to uphold San Francisco as a model of progressive good governance. SF succeeds in spite of its government, not because of it. Basically it is fortunate to have great weather and an abundance of wealthy educated people who can absorb the insanely high cost of living and tax structure and still have enough left over to pay their way past the lackluster public services they get for all that tax money.

spikels 13y ago

You got that right but I'll hold my rant for another day.

wyclif 13y ago

SF is the NIMBY capital of America for a reason. Loads of people who can't seem to understand why housing prices keep rising while they simultaneously ensure that no new housing can be built.

littledot5566 13y ago
For ESL: NIMBY Not In My Back Yard; someone who opposes anything built right by where they live. NIMBYs cause a lot of things to not get done.
walshemj 13y ago
The FIOS (FTC) role out was objected to in certain posh parts of London because the residents objected to "the ugly green cabinets" Apparently the second assistant nanny complained that it was hard to maneuver the giant buggy/prams around :-) BT said ok no FTC for you then and went off and did other less precious areas
- rwmj 13y ago
  Tell me about it! In our village, FTTC has been delayed at least 2 years because one NIMBY bstard didn't want his view of the field in front of his house to be obscured by a larger cabinet. He's already got a cab in front of his house, just didn't want one perhaps 8 inches taller. That's one man holding back progress for thousands.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

nostromo 13y ago

http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-12-16/news/the-worst-run-big-city-in-the-u-s/full/ http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-12-16/news/the-worst-run-big-ci...

rosser 13y ago
Thank you for that link. I was trying to find it when another discussion about the idiocy of SF city government came up on HN a few weeks back. Folks, it really is this bad.

Shivetya 13y ago

Oh I can name a few more dysfunctional cities, Detroit comes to mind. Is a city dysfunctional because it fails one segment of its population? Lets face it, high speed internet is not going to appeal or be used by many in any city. Yes there are those who will, but we tend to vastly over estimate the impact the net has on those who are poverty line or lower.

rayiner 13y ago
Is Detroit more dysfunctional adjusted for economic condition? Because even a well-run city would be in a bad situation if the local economy declined, for unrelated structural reasons, the way it has in Detroit.
- crusso 13y ago
  Cart, Horse
- danielweber 13y ago
  The Free Press had a long-form history about Detroit's mistakes and missed opportunities. http://www.freep.com/interactive/article/20130915/NEWS01/130801004/Detroit-Bankruptcy-history-1950-debt-pension-revenue http://www.freep.com/interactive/article/20130915/NEWS01/130... I like to point out "Pension officials handed out about $1 billion in bonuses from the city’s two pension funds to retirees and active city workers from 1985 to 2008" but there's a lot of other stuff in there. Detroit had some trouble baked into the cards back in the 1950's, when they were a geographically big city with corresponding fixed costs that would have trouble dealing with any decline in population, but it didn't have to be anywhere near as bad as it was.
- tptacek 13y ago
  Yes, it is.