What s up guys! It s Jason here and welcome back to my YouTube channel, The Decline of
San Francisco in 2022 Insight.
When you think of San Francisco, what image pops into your head?
The Golden Gate Bridge?
Trolley Cars?
Alcatraz?
The steep streets in the city of fog have been a part of the United States for just
under two centuries. This 1848 move would one day yield the second most densely populated
city in the United States, and one of the most famous globally. However, things have
fallen dramatically ever since. Let s take a shot dive through the history when San Francisco
was on top of the world and go over why San Francisco has fallen so badly now in 2022.
We ll go over politics, homelessness, crime and many other things. Whether you agree or
disagree, I guarantee you ll be a San Fran expert by the end of the video.
Before we begin If you wouldn t mind just tapping that LIKE button for the YouTube algorithm,
I would really appreciate it. If you ve ever been to San Francisco, be sure to subscribe
and hit that notification bell for new videos each week. Thanks for doing that and now let
us continue on with What happened to San Francisco, California and the future of this once great
American city.
History of San Francisco Before the Fall
Before we hop into our main content, it s a good idea to wave at history so we know
where we started. This land has been home to humans since 4000 B.C.E. The first recorded
people by Spanish settlers were the Ohlone, thought to have settled the area as hunter-gatherers
who practiced some husbandry of the land. Once the Spainards came in 1769, this prime
location was torn from the natives and underwent a modest period of growth. However, the rumors
of gold in 1849 turned this foggy little sea town into the largest city on the west coast.
A title San Fran would hold until the early 1900 s. Wherein, that famous 1904 earthquake
leveled all progress made and lit it on fire. The residents of the west coast mecca were
not deterred, and took the opportunity to create a city of the future. While it certainly
was a prominent naval base in world war two, the city is best known as the capital for
counterculture. Think hippies, the gay rights movement, and eventually it was the epicenter
of the dot com explosion.
These things all contribute to what makes San Francisco great, however there are plenty
of darker parts that stained the city, making it almost impossible to wash away.
While the city is heralded for having progressive legislation, inclusive environments, and was
the first Sanctuary City on the west coast. This beautiful exterior has enticed millions
to make this city home. Yet the ugly underside sucks the soul from this exalted mecca of
liberal ideologies.
One attributing factor that underlines a great deal of the topics we are going to talk about
is the Defund the Police campaign San Francisco adopted in July of 2021 . The idea of equal
treatment is a human right. That is undeniable. The deduction of $120 million dollars from
law departments has led to two years of rising crimes and a frightening lack of arrests;
is the unintended consequence of that choice.
Yes, it cannot be denied the pandemic has played a heavy hand in American crime rising.
Cities across America have seen a rise in their crimes, drug usage and the decline of
trust in the system. Within the past decade, San Francisco has yoyo-ed back and forth between
positive change and positively frightening statistics. Forcing businesses and residents
to rethink their long term plans in the Golden Gate City.
The Decline of San Francisco - Politics The trend of San Francisco being a haven for
liberal thinking individuals has persisted through the early two thousands until today.
Historically this has been crucial in giving individuals like the LGBTQIA+ community a
home and safe space to fight for equality and justice. The most recent progressive leap
the city spearheaded was becoming the first city in California to embrace the Defund the
Police '' movement. This ultimately redirected $120 million from the police force and redirected
it into community outreach and improvement. However this has not gone the way many who
support the movement had hoped. Crime has risen within the city, particularly within
the tenderloin district and tourist hot spots. Within the month of november in 2021 the number
of smash-and-grabs was 876. Just shy of doubling 2020 s number of 442 smash and grabs. So yeah
. Things aren t going well for San Fran s residents or businesses. Any crime considered
to be a theft under $950 as a misdemeanor. These crimes along with other traditional
robberies are often not prosecuted due to a 2014 law. Due to this law combined with
the recent defunding has left stores to their own devices. Walgreens and Safeway both have
suffered massive losses of sales and they have shut down several stores within the city
and have no plans for replacement stores or returning to the Tenderloin district in the
future. Leaving this district with limited options for groceries, pharmacies and access
to other basic necessities.
The Decline of San Francisco - Homelessness Now it may seem odd to speak about a city
that hosts incredible wealth. Home of Wells Fargo, Google, Meta (formerly but is avoiding
the law Facebook?), Walmart, Deloitte, and Oracle. As having money, housing,drug, and
violent crime problems. While the iconic Lombard street and the other trendy districts paint
a picture of wealth, prestige and abundance. San Fran is within the top 6 cities with the
largest homeless population. The National Homeless Information Project estimates that
the city has a population of ~17,000 individuals who are lacking housing. After spending around
$320 million in 2020 for those who found themselves and their families without shelter, there
was still an estimated 5,180 left out to fend for themselves. The average Californian spends
just over 25% of their income on rent. In the Bay area these statistics hold true, it
is also important to add that the price of rent has steadily risen since 2009. While
the vacancy rate of the city is well below the national average (5-6%) at 3.25%. All
these numbers mean that it s becoming harder and harder to find, and afford rent in the
Bay and surrounding areas. Potentially keeping individuals and families out of decent living
conditions. This does not necessarily mean crime would naturally rise nor does it mean
those who lack permanent homes are causing the increase in criminal behavior. However,
a large transient population enables perpetrators to commit crimes with greater anonymity and
therefore a larger probability of success.
The Decline of San Francisco - Crime The report you ve all been chomping at the
bit for, crimes and their chaos. Unlike our Cleveland and Philadelphia episode the crime
stats were a little more obscure for San Fran. Whether it is the reporting style, the defunding
of police and therefore less people to actually stop and record crimes or simply really bad
reporting choices. This dive was a bit like a scavenger hunt. The information is certainly
there, you just have to know exactly where to go. Well we went to the coroner's report,
and police reports when we could verify them. Things weren t going well. Since 2015 homicide
has been steadily increasing, hovering between 45 to 50 homicides each year within the immediate
city limits.This does not include the surrounding neighborhoods that define San Francisco . Although
those have also climbed at a rate that would turn Alex Honnoed green with envy. This steep
uptick in homicides and violent crimes can be attributed to gang violence, domestic abuse
situations, and the close quarters Covid-19 has pigeonholed many into.So what are the
odds of becoming a victim of a violent crime yourself if you lived here? 1 in 178 people.
Take a second to think about that, there are more people on a Southwest flight than that!!
So out of every plane ride you ve taken, 1 person would become or is a victim of a violent
crime in San Francisco.
Now this includes homicide, rape, assult and robbery. However, if we revisit our other
investigations into Cleveland and Philadelphia we see that the odds of becoming a victim
of violent crime in Cleveland is 1 in 59 and Philly was 102. Now, with the policies in
place in San Francisco, many robberies go unreported and unprosecuted. So these current
odds probably will change in the future when reporting and prosecution are reinforced.
What we re trying to get across here is that while beautiful, the city has a higher crime
rate than 97% of America and is way safer than Cleveland who would ve guessed?
The Decline of San Francisco - Drugs
Another popular topic on this channel? Drugs, and drug related issues.
It's no secret that America is facing a serious drug epidemic and while there's many different
paraphernalia included in this topic and no, we are not talking about Marajuana. Though,
California was the pioneer state in allowing medical cannabis usage, and was one of the
first adoptees of recreational usage laws. No No, we are talking about something that
can kill you the instant it enters your bloodstream.
Fentanyl.
In our Cleveland video we discussed how it was this quirky town in Ohio that has been
the capital of the epidemic for this substance. Which remains true. San Francisco has its
own rising numbers. Doubling in fatal overdoses since 2015, Fentanly is infiltrating the drug
world in a roaring and aggressive takeover. Dealers use the synthetic substance to cut
the price of their product while yielding a greater high for the user. Creating a consumer
base that will be captured by the intense high and cheap price. Opioids, heroin, ecstasy,
MDMA and cocaine all have the potential to be laced with this substance as it is easy
to blend in with the main'' drug. This has led to the absolutely staggering
numbers of overdoses and deaths that San Fran has seen the past few years. The number of
overdose deaths in the immediate Bay area are double all of the Covid deaths for the
area in 2020. That number was 700. Yes, 700 individuals who lost their lives battling
an addiction. However staggering that number may be, and it is staggering. The numbers
for 2021 were slightly better at 650 deaths attributed to overdose. I doubt it gets better
for San Francisco in 2022 and 2023.
So what next for the Future of San Francisco?
Well, we could tell you about how the pandemic destroyed the tourism industry, costing approximately
8 billion dollars of revenue in 2020 alone. OR that 49er have posted pretty bad numbers
since their superbowl defeat in 2012. Either way, we figured that more fun facts weren
t really fun.
There is obviously hope for this city, with the law enforcement system receiving their
funding again, the American public slowly coming out of our pandemic hidey holes, and
our economy eeking back to life. The city once again could emerge as the celebrated
liberal haven that has been the subjects of many indie bands.
So with that said, thank you so much for watching my video. What do you think of San Francisco?
There was a significant amount of research, production and travelling that went into making
this video possible. If you haven t seen already, check out my video on the Rise and Fall of
New York and the Rise and Fall of Philadelphia. Let me know if there s any other cities you
would like me to explore. As always, stay happy and healthy and stay tuned for another
episode of Company Insight next week.