• Thanks to the Affordable Care
Act, or Obamacare, the rate of local
residents with health insurance has
risen 24 percent since 2013.
• Fifty-eight percent of Silicon Valley adults and one-third of its
students are considered “obese” by medical professionals.
• Turnout of eligible voters in November 2018 of 53 percent
was the highest in any midterm election for the past 20 years, and
the highest ever recorded for voters between 18 and 24.
Dr. Jan English-Leuck has a Silicon Valley pedigree few can
claim. A longtime observer of the local scene, she arrived at San
Jose State University 28 years ago as professor of anthropology,
witnessing dramatic changes in the region during her tenure. The
2017 second edition of her landmark 2002 book, “Cultures@SiliconValley”,
involved 2,000 hours of research observing the lives
of several local families and how they’ve been affected by larger
social and economic upheaval and pressures living at ground zero
of the global tech juggernaut.
After nearly three decades of putting the region under her
magnifying glass, English-Leuck’s latest assessment includes a
warning: From her perspective teaching the next generation
of employees about to move into the economy, English-Leuck
reports that many want to avoid the stressed-out Silicon Valley
existence they often see around them. Instead, they plan to build
careers and lives elsewhere in the state or country.
“I see that many of our leaders are sobered by our situation
today, as well, but they still have a very top-down view, which is
a lot more rosy,” English-Leuck says. “Honestly, the bottom-up
view these days is pretty desperate. Many of my students in recent
years graduate with a pile of debt, so they don’t easily enter the
middle class even after getting jobs. Most of them would love to
stay here, but they don’t view it as very realistic.”
She, too, worries about the loss of a multicultural citizenship.
“The story of immigration is a very important story for Silicon
Valley,” says English-Leuck. “We could be facing some instability
and vulnerability as a region. This year’s Index reveals the many
successes of Silicon Valley, but gives us messages, too, that are far
more sobering. It will likely be underscored by the 2020 Census.
People are leaving, including many people who grew up here.”
But if there is one attribute that defines the Valley, it is the
ability to adroitly adapt. That not only applies to circuitry and
the latest telecommunication innovations. It also embraces the
workspace and employment opportunities. If there is an effective
strategy for reversing the movement to other parts of the country,
there is every reason to believe that the Valley’s most creative
minds will be able to stem the flow and hold on to the best talent,
as it has in the past. No one who’s experienced its growth over
three decades is likely to bet against that.
“In 2019, Silicon Valley remains the world’s premier high-tech
capital in a challenging world with many rivals and competitors,”
observes English-Leuck. “In the network of silicon places, it has
not lost its sparkly nature.”
She agreed with others that what’s not so sparkly anymore is the
steady stream of middle-income earners fleeing the region and the
growing ranks of homeless people along the streets, alleyways and
river banks of the Valley.
“We’ve enjoyed all of this success, but at the same time, people
are leaving.”
And fallout from the contentious national debate over immigration
June/July 2019 59
is especially acute here. n
Uber, which could generate an estimated $120 billion, bigger
than Facebook.”
Despite the social, infrastructure and economic challenges that
threaten the region’s future prosperity, Hancock sees cause for
optimism. He stressed that for the third year in a row, the state
Legislature has passed numerous bills to spur affordable housing
production and tackle California’s seemingly intractable problem
of homelessness. He lauded local tech giants like Facebook and
Cisco Systems for their substantial private initiatives to provide
housing for employees and reduce homelessness amidst Silicon
Valley wealth.
He also lauded Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to promote housing
production and new organizations like the Committee to
House the Bay Area—a 21-member board of major employers,
housing developers, labor and environmental leaders, housing
advocates, transit experts and public officials—as evidence of
concern and action.
“For the first time, it is being called a crisis,” Hancock said.
“The problem obviously has not been solved, but we’re working
on it.”
It should be noted Silicon Valley continues to maintain its
global tech-world primacy over rivals the likes of Seattle, New
York, Austin and Boston despite the gathering cloud of challenges
it faces, according to Levy, who is also a researcher and advisor
for the Silicon Valley index. He doesn’t fret over the Valley’s job
growth not being as robust as the preceding year—for the second
consecutive year.
“It’s still 50 percent bigger than the rest of country,” he said
“This year’s Index is a tale of two halves, I think,” said Bellisario,
borrowing and updating a famous title from a 19th-century
novel by Charles Dickens. His think tank is focused on economic
and public policy issues in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and
is part of the Bay Area Council, which represents the interests
of hundreds of the region’s largest employers, including Apple,
Facebook, Kaiser Permanente and Bank of America.
“The positive news here is the tech-led economy, with the region’s
‘secret sauce’ of educational attainment, patent volume, VC
‘WE LIVE IN A RARIFIED
PLACE, A HIGH-OCTANE
REGION WITH LOTS OF
PROSPERITY.’
investment and the concentration of talent,” says Bellisario. “It’s
our recipe for success. Many of our markers are still very strong.”
How does that impact the Valley’s quality of life, including air
quality and general health concerns? A few statistics help to tell
the story:
• The Valley accounted for 18 percent of California’s electricvehicle
rebates last year, a figure that likely underestimates local
EV adoption.
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