Good Article: “How Miami Seduced Silicon Valley” (West Palm Beach, University: real estate, foreclosure)

[elchevere]

Very good read on Miami since Covid. Good arguments for those who support and expect continued Miami growth and ammunition for those who doubt it is sustainable ( “arroz con manbros”….lol).

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021...fwsE_0l9lpdYq4

“ Suarez has been on a mission to rebrand Miami — long a place to spend money, rather than earn it — as a haven for founders who feel underappreciated in more calcified urban climes.”

“ The boom is visible in the city’s crane-spiked skyline, too, with deals for Spotify, Microsoft, Apple, and TikTok either signed or in the offing. In greater South Florida, a related incursion by the finance industry — Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Elliott — is in full swing.”

“ I can’t wait to get back to Miami.’ Detroit is a metaphor for the Bay Area. It was a thriving city with a very vibrant industry, and it completely collapsed of its own volition.” Nobody he knows in Miami has recently been a victim of a crime, he said, but in Silicon Valley, “every week, without exaggeration, someone in my life has their car broken into.” Rabois spoke contemptuously of San Francisco’s conflicting public-health mandates, which require masking in gyms but not while eating in restaurants. “

“Florida’s economy has always depended on real estate and hospitality, which in turn rely on an endless stream of new arrivals. The result has been a series of bubbles and their aftermath — most recently, the national foreclosure crisis of 2007, which peaked here — leading some to nickname Florida “the Ponzi State.”

“We’re sinking. We’re one big hit from a Cat 3 hurricane from being the next city of Atlantis.” There was the collapse of Champlain Towers South, the result of the “generational incompetence of this government.” Corben pointed to the city’s rising cost of living and widening income gap…. In Corben’s view, the pandemic-era frenzy over Miami is just another South Florida real-estate hustle, one that will inevitably go splat, returning Miami to its age-old identity as “a sunny place for shady people.” He routinely mocked the invasive species that is tech bros, whom he calls “arroz con manbros” ‘

[silverct9a]

Read the entire thing - very detailed and throughly enjoyed it. A couple thoughts as person in tech, I’m in agreeance that I firmly believe the Cuban old guard has stifled Miami’s potential emergence in tech…we could have been making steady progress long ago if it wasn’t for the fears of losing their grip on power to weathly, well connected tech leaders.

We currently have nothing even remotely comparable to MIT, Stanford, Caltech or even neighboring Georgia Tech to anchor a true tech startup culture and to bring in venture capital. While it’s admirable, and even impressive what Wynwood has and continues to accomplish (Wyncode) we truly need that University or at least a Nationally recognized program/department at UM, FIU, FAU etc.

Finally, although I sorta think Francis Suarez is a real estate agent masquerading as a Mayor, I’m grateful for his attempts to lure big tech, and his desire to diversify the local economy and slow down the brain drain we suffer from. Former governor Rick Scott whom I’m no fan of attempted this during tenure and failed due to just advertising us to potential businesses as “Hey no income taxes and you can pay Floridians low salaries and they’ll be happy!”

Curious to see where we’ll be after COVID is the rear view mirror.

[elchevere]

NYC enhanced its tech presence by working in collaboration with upstate based Cornell University and establishing Cornell Tech campus in Manhattan (to supplement Columbia and NYU)….perhaps Suarez can lure an Ivy, Stanford, MIT or Carnegie Mellon with a national reputation to open a tech campus in Miami that would produce similar results.

[silverct9a]

Excellent idea! It appears West Palm Beach and the University of Florida are working on something similar. While it's not an Ivy or an MIT, it's the highest ranked University in the state and we'll be getting a grad school focusing on AI, and finance to support all these high profile relocations and satellite offices right in our backyard! This is a much needed first step and huge move in the right direction.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/...ty/5664106001/

Originally Posted by elchevere

NYC enhanced its tech presence by working in collaboration with upstate based Cornell University and establishing Cornell Tech campus in Manhattan (to supplement Columbia and NYU)….perhaps Suarez can lure an Ivy, Stanford, MIT or Carnegie Mellon with a national reputation to open a tech campus in Miami that would produce similar results.

[CXT2000]

Lol, wait till they find out most of the tech growth was based on speculation. A lot of people moved back to SF/NYC or other parts of the country. Plus, knowing Miami, tech will become the new boom/bust cycle, grow super fast and unhealthy =collapse (the Miami strategy). The tech growth has been overblown not only with investments, but job figures (for example, if company X says "we will hire 300 people by 2023, they count all 300 as jobs created in 2021). Same with bitcoin, Vice released an interesting article about the struggles Miami is facing right now and how it's propping it up artificially.

Also should note that it's funny seeing articles about how "pro business" Miami is, while facing a $28 million dollar Federal lawsuit because the government is intimidating businesses and acting like a racketeering org.

And finally, thank God for people like Corben, who call out Miami and their b.s. A lot of what he is saying about Miami is truth and ingrained in history. This might upset people who are new to the city or fantasize it as a "utopia" but again, based on truth and history.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Detroit is a metaphor for the Bay Area. It was a thriving city with a very vibrant industry, and it completely collapsed of its own volition.” Nobody he knows in Miami has recently been a victim of a crime, he said, but in Silicon Valley, “every week, without exaggeration, someone in my life has their car broken into.” Rabois spoke contemptuously of San Francisco’s conflicting public-health mandates, which require masking in gyms but not while eating in restaurants. “‘

To the extent that Miami has a practical and pragmatic political culture (e.g. far less homeless and street crime), Big Tech will change that if they come here.


Big Tech is now held hostage by the Social Justice Warriors and their loony ideas that are completely unhinged from reality.

[k350]

If someone wants to live in some high COL tech hub city, by all means, go move to one that already exists.

I have no idea why people keep on wanting to change Miami to (insert your city), just go move to the damn place if that is what you want.

[silverct9a]

Short sighted thinking for many reasons - The biggest driver of GDP growth and innovation currently is tech and because of this every company will eventually become tech companies within their respective industries. A good example is finance (High frequency trading, artificial intelligence, highly scaled servers, etc) who are competing directly with big tech for engineering talent.

Every state wants a piece of this growth and they should if having the best opportunities for their residents and improving their tax base is a priority. There’s a reason almost every state competed for Amazon’s HQ2 and put their “hat in the ring.”

In regards to Florida, we can no longer afford to just rely on tourism. We are the 3rd largest state by population and we need to improve our tech footprint to ensure we’re competitive for the jobs of the future - we owe this to future generations.

Skate where the puck is heading, not where it has been.

Originally Posted by k350

If someone wants to live in some high COL tech hub city, by all means, go move to one that already exists.

I have no idea why people keep on wanting to change Miami to (insert your city), just go move to the damn place if that is what you want.

[wizrap]

Originally Posted by silverct9a

Short sighted thinking for many reasons - The biggest driver of GDP growth and innovation currently is tech and because of this every company will eventually become tech companies within their respective industries. A good example is finance (High frequency trading, artificial intelligence, highly scaled servers, etc) who are competing directly with big tech for engineering talent.

Every state wants a piece of this growth and they should if having the best opportunities for their residents and improving their tax base is a priority. There’s a reason almost every state competed for Amazon’s HQ2 and put their “hat in the ring.”

In regards to Florida, we can no longer afford to just rely on tourism. We are the 3rd largest state by population and we need to improve our tech footprint to ensure we’re competitive for the jobs of the future - we owe this to future generations.

Skate where the puck is heading, not where it has been.

Exactly. So many service jobs will become more computerized in the future and we will need tech workers to keep equipment in service thru programming updates, repairs, replacements, what have you. Robotics will become ever more important.

We need a diversified economy and can’t live on tourism alone.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Very good read on Miami since Covid. Good arguments for those who support and expect continued Miami growth and ammunition for those who doubt it is sustainable ( “arroz con manbros”….lol).

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021...fwsE_0l9lpdYq4

“ Suarez has been on a mission to rebrand Miami — long a place to spend money, rather than earn it — as a haven for founders who feel underappreciated in more calcified urban climes.”

“ The boom is visible in the city’s crane-spiked skyline, too, with deals for Spotify, Microsoft, Apple, and TikTok either signed or in the offing. In greater South Florida, a related incursion by the finance industry — Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Elliott — is in full swing.”

“ I can’t wait to get back to Miami.’ Detroit is a metaphor for the Bay Area. It was a thriving city with a very vibrant industry, and it completely collapsed of its own volition.” Nobody he knows in Miami has recently been a victim of a crime, he said, but in Silicon Valley, “every week, without exaggeration, someone in my life has their car broken into.” Rabois spoke contemptuously of San Francisco’s conflicting public-health mandates, which require masking in gyms but not while eating in restaurants. “

“Florida’s economy has always depended on real estate and hospitality, which in turn rely on an endless stream of new arrivals. The result has been a series of bubbles and their aftermath — most recently, the national foreclosure crisis of 2007, which peaked here — leading some to nickname Florida “the Ponzi State.”

“We’re sinking. We’re one big hit from a Cat 3 hurricane from being the next city of Atlantis.” There was the collapse of Champlain Towers South, the result of the “generational incompetence of this government.” Corben pointed to the city’s rising cost of living and widening income gap…. In Corben’s view, the pandemic-era frenzy over Miami is just another South Florida real-estate hustle, one that will inevitably go splat, returning Miami to its age-old identity as “a sunny place for shady people.” He routinely mocked the invasive species that is tech bros, whom he calls “arroz con manbros” ‘

As someone who lives in Silicon Valley, I can vouch for the car break-ins. I've had my car broken into like 6 times in the last year and a half. I at least 3 or 4 other people at work who've had their cars broken into at least once (sometimes more) during that time as well.