City’s economy is threatened as employees work from home

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

admin

close video San Francisco activist exposes drug crisis at city bus stops

San Francisco drug abstinence advocate Ricci Wynne discusses the open-air drug market unraveling in one of the country’s largest cities.

The San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board put out a dire warning about San Francisco's economy, emphasizing that the city needs to evolve as fast as possible to avoid a ‘doom loop’ from employees transitioning to remote work.

"Experts say post-pandemic woes stemming from office workers staying home instead of commuting into the city could send San Francisco into a 'doom loop' that would gut its tax base, decimate fare-reliant regional transit systems like BART and trap it in an economic death spiral," the editorial warns.

The editorial board also drew a comparison between San Francisco after COVID-19 and New York City after 9/11, as commuters feared returning to New York skyscrapers after the terrorist attacks.

But with enough subsidies, the article argues, Manhattan bounced back thanks to new train stations, public parks, malls and residential buildings in the Financial District. But San Francisco has yet to make structural changes.

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR TORCHED FOR SEEKING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO CURB CRIME CRISIS: ‘YOU NEED TO DEAL WITH IT’

A view shows the downtown skyline of San Francisco, Calif., June, 29, 2022. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria / Reuters Photos)

"Despite our housing crisis, it was years into the COVID pandemic before our leaders meaningfully questioned the logic of reserving some of the most prized real estate on Earth for fickle suburbanites and their cars," the editorial said.

"And so we wasted generous federal COVID emergency funds trying to bludgeon, cajole and pray for office workers to return downtown instead of planning for change," the piece continued. "We’re now staring down the consequences for that lack of vision."

CONCERNS ESCALATE OVER SAN FRANCISCO'S RISING CRIME HURTING BUSINESS

In this March 28, 2020, file photo, a small group of people walk in front of the Golden Gate Bridge at Baker Beach in San Francisco. ((AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) / AP Newsroom)

The editorial board suggested investing in office-to-housing conversions and demolishing office buildings for new projects, which would require financial help from the state government.

Last year, San Francisco topped a list of cities that homebuyers wanted to move away from. 24% of buyers in a Redfin report were looking to leave San Francisco.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities founder and CEO Joel Marcus had told Fox Business in January that redeveloping older office buildings into multifamily homes could solve the housing crisis.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"This sits as a monumental opportunity, I think, for this country to take this stock of older office buildings," Marcus said on "Mornings with Maria." "Almost 996 million square feet by current account, and move that into a stock of housing because it sits there, and it just needs to be redeveloped."

An aerial view of the San Francisco city skyline in California, Oct. 28, 2021. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria / Reuters Photos)

Politics

Crypto isn’t crashing the American dream; it’s renovating it

Published

5 hours ago

July 27, 2025

admin

Crypto isn’t crashing the American dream; it’s renovating it

The US housing regulator’s decision to recognize crypto assets in mortgage applications marks a historic shift from exclusion to integration, opening new pathways to homeownership.

Business

US and EU agree trade deal, says Donald Trump

Published

6 hours ago

July 27, 2025

admin

US and EU agree trade deal, says Donald Trump

The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, says Donald Trump.

The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland.

Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump said the EU deal was the “biggest deal ever made” and it will be “great for cars”.

The US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods into America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy.

He said there will be an EU investment of $600bn in the US, the bloc will buy $750bn in US energy and will also purchase US military equipment.

Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was “fairness”, citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture.

He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes.

For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU.

Ms von der Leyen said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, saying it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.

In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods.

Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a “tough negotiator and dealmaker”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

US