OPINION: Turning platitudes into policies, determining how much these policies will cost, and how to pay for them is necessary for building a genuine vision rather than just a set of talking points.
Media coverage of San Francisco too frequently portrays The City as a collection of problems — homelessness, crime, housing, fentanyl, the Giants’ hitting — that need to be solved, while occasionally highlighting some of the good things: a new park, wonderful restaurants, S.F.’s eternal beauty.
But San Francisco politicians don’t have a vision. Instead, they present piecemeal arguments about specific issues. To build a compelling and plausible vision is not easy and needs to be bolstered by rigorous study, data and community input. However, any progressive vision for San Francisco must include tolerance. One of the reasons San Francisco is both a great city and an unusual one is its deep commitment to tolerance. This must extend to all races, ethnicities and religions as well as to the LGBTQ communities in The City. Without that tolerance, there can be no progressive San Francisco.
This is enormously relevant for issues like homelessness. A compassionate vision would view homelessness primarily through the suffering of those who are homeless and would seek to not only find shelter or treatment for the homeless, but invest in making those facilities humane and decent. Rhetoric about clearing homeless encampments, rounding up the homeless and generally seeing the issue through the lens of the quality of life for the housed would have no place in a compassionate city.
Turning platitudes into policies, determining how much these policies will cost, and how to pay for them is necessary for building a genuine vision rather than just a set of talking points. Policy research, creative thinking and the willingness to take risks are all part of how to move from platitudes to a vision. The even more difficult challenge is building broad and political coalition to support it.
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