Evan McKenzie's Friends

Evan McKenzie's Discussions

Replied Sep. 21, 2008

Started this discussion. Last reply by Evan McKenzie Sep. 21, 2008.

Started this discussion. Last reply by Dennis James Sep. 18, 2008.

August 7, 2009

At 4:59am on August 7, 2009, Evan McKenzie said…: Just got back from vacation in San Francisco with my children, where we spent 9 days with family there. We had a wonderful time, and it is an amazingly beautiful city, but it has changed dramatically. In the 1960s, San Francisco had a thriving middle class including families with kids, but now it is basically a city of the rich and poor. The most remarkable thing is the absence of children, except for tourist families. Everywhere you look you see people walking dogs. I have never seen so many dogs in my life. But kids? Nowhere to be seen except at the tourist attractions. The government of SF is determined to prevent "gentrification," and they are very concerned about the poor and homeless (and these are worthy objectives, I would say) but in the process they have prevented construction of housing for the middle class. In the long run, I think that is an unsustainable political situation. Aristotle wrote about the way the middle class provides political stability, and in political science we generally view the middle class that way. And what kind of community do you have in the long run, if families with kids are only a minimal factor?