> SV political hostility towards technology companies and employees is frustrating. I wish the government was more aligned with helping these companies grow
Did you check how well those companies actually grew, dominated markets and made their employees millionaires?
Sure, not everything is perfect and aligned to their liking, but calling a place that still actively creating biggest tech companies in the world a hostile place for them is a stretch at best.
It’s a mixed bag - a lot of stuff is really great (non-competes are illegal, at will employment, etc.)
The political rhetoric of the area is hostile to technology companies and employees though. A lot of blame is put on the tech industry for whatever problem is being discussed.
For example employees and tech companies are blamed for high housing costs because new jobs lead to more people living here (rather than blaming policy that restricts supply).
AB5 is hostile to ride sharing companies and was written mostly to target them.
This kind of blame comes up for pretty much everything.
As I said, not everything is perfect, but let’s keep things in a perspective. It’s still the place that’s generating multiple billion dollars companies year, and turns lots of people into millionaires.
It’s hard to find anywhere else in the world, where sum of all things is so friendly towards tech. Of course, a lot of that isn’t because of government (or even, despite their actions) but complaining how horrible it’s for tech companies in SV is so detached from reality like billionaires complaining that they need to pay extra few % in taxes.
It’s possible you read my initial comment as more extreme than I intended.
I just think there’s more opportunity for collaboration - the stance I often see/hear/read about is combative. Tech companies vs. local politics. Local politicians vs. tech companies, etc. It’d be nice if there was less of this and more working towards shared goals.
Did you check how well those companies actually grew, dominated markets and made their employees millionaires?
Sure, not everything is perfect and aligned to their liking, but calling a place that still actively creating biggest tech companies in the world a hostile place for them is a stretch at best.