I know the history of San Francisco because I started the first unlicensed bus tours of the City in 1972 (Third World Tours). I had to develop the spiel for the tours and train the bus drivers.  So I know that San Francisco has a long history of extremist, stupid, legislation that has often resulted in positive outcomes; lucky.  

Because the City has long had 500 appointed commissioners, nothing really gets done. The number of police officers was limited by charter to 1,500; meaning the police never even tried to be effective.  There are dozens of more legislative stupidities which is why the beatniks then the hippies settled here and why my Briarpatch had over 600 members of new small hippie businesses in San Francisco.So what is the latest legislative stupidity?  Right here: this sign is on the door of an empty restaurant and the empty grocery next door.

Our brilliant Board of Supervisors, all woke, are taxing empty retail businesses for being empty.

I can’t tell you how stupid this is.  Any business person will tell you this will not lead to any more retail rentals, it will lead to more retail rental space converted to residential and office space; the lucky outcome is different..

With more than a million square feet of retail rental space empty now because the of Covid lockdown and the perpetual homelessness destroyed retail business, much of that space will be sublet for a $1 a month to artists, dancers, yoga teachers, short term-schools and temporary office space for people who are tired of working from home.  The For Lease signs will still be up, maybe not on the store fronts but online.

That is great for the thousands of people who will get short-term nearly free space and for all the pedestrians who will now see life in the retail spaces.

Stupid new taxes will lead to the lucky outcome of more street life.