Palo Alto mayor pushes for ban on large tech companies taking over downtown

in life •  8 years ago  (edited)

The mayor of Palo Alto is pushing for a ban on large technology companies downtown, making him the latest local politician to go after the powerful firms driving the booming economy in Silicon Valley.

Patrick Burt said he and other city council members in Palo Alto – which is home to corporations Palantir and Amazon, and is at the center of California’s regional hub for technology – want to use local zoning laws to restrict major tech companies from occupying space in the city’s downtown area.

The controversial proposal, which he said was in an early stage of development, comes after Burt recently faced backlash for arguing that a key solution to the housing crisis was to slow job growth.

Judy Kleinberg, president of the Palo Alto chamber of commerce, said it was wrong to target a specific sector in an effort to curb job growth.

“You haven’t solved the housing [shortage] by pushing a certain kind of business out of town,” said Kleinberg, a former mayor. “All growth should be sustainable. But it should not be ‘no growth’, because then we will become Detroit. We must continue to evolve and improve.” - !!!!!!!!!!!


https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/02/palo-alto-ban-technology-companies-downtown-patrick-burt

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Only a politician would want to slow job growth.
Poor thing.
Perhaps he should seek help before he hurts himself or others?