This past August, the presidential candidates and Congressional leaders of the Democratic Party met in San Francisco for the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) laid out her bold legislative agenda, while candidates vying for the nomination shared their own progressive policy platforms. They spoke of the need to transition to a universal health care system and advocated for the rights of marginalized communities. They pushed for reform of a society that, to them, is heavily skewed toward the wealthy and touted the importance of a more progressive tax code and other measures to promote greater equality.
San Francisco, in particular, seems like a fitting place for this convention. Part of Pelosi’s district, San Francisco has developed a reputation as one of the liberal hubs of the country. The city last had a Republican mayor in 1964 and has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1956. This Democratic dominance was evident in 2016, as Hillary Clinton received 85 percent of the vote in San Francisco County compared to the 9 percent that went to President Donald Trump.
However, outside the walls of the Hilton Hotel in Union Square, where the DNC meeting was held, the ugly reality of living conditions in San Francisco becomes apparent. Even in the tourism center of the city, some of the nearly 10,000 homeless residents of San Francisco dwell on the streets. Despite being one of the most liberal cities in America, San Francisco has fallen victim to the growing socio-economic inequality that is strongly condemned by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Housing prices have become too expensive for working people to afford, forcing them to reside on the sidewalks. The result is a city that functions only for the wealthy — the antithesis of the progressive agenda.
This disconnect, however, is not limited to San Francisco. Other traditionally liberal cities, such as New York and Boston, have also been unable to contain the accelerating divide between the very rich and the very poor. While inequality continues to impact the underprivileged communities of these cities, local governments have made efforts to make their cities more inclusive, just, and reflective of progressive values. With these contrasting perspectives, the question remains: Just how progressive are America’s cities?
