Mira Martin-Parker: "Ceci n'est pas une guillotine"

It seems the only kinds of businesses able to survive in San Francisco these days are places like Sightglass Café (owned by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey) that are cross-subsidized by high tech capital or other Wall Street investors. Independent entities like us simply can't make the numbers work, the costs involved are too great. [...]

Of course we understand the current restrictions are necessary in order to protect public health. What we don't understand is why we've received no compensation at all for our losses, and yet are simultaneously sadistically being shaken down for our rent money. Is rent extraction really an essential service? Shouldn't these businesses be shut down and forced to lose money as well? [...]

I just don't get why the resulting economic burden is being shouldered by those least able to bear it. Can't some of our numerous local billionaires ante up? Can't the rent extractors be asked to make some sacrifices?

Instead it seems as if this epidemic is providing the tech industry with what they've long desired; an opportunity to wipe out any alternative to their alienated culture of screen zombies and delivery slaves. As they say in disaster capitalism, never let a good crisis go to waste. And no doubt the real estate industry (which is intimately related to the tech industry) will come in at the end and clear us all out for non-payment on massive amounts of back rent.

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