The past several months have seen a veritable tech exodus from the Bay Area as workers and major companies have decided to take their business elsewhere.
Some blame high taxes and others stiff regulations, but San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said many tech leaders feel they’ve been under appreciated.
"What I’m also hearing is just a certain sentiment that they’re just not wanted," he said. “It’s natural I think for a lot of employers to say, 'Well we’d rather go somewhere where they actually want us.'"
Liccardo made the comments during a Q&A session with a local business advocacy group, which was first reported on by San Jose Spotlight.
"The traditional tale has been well, we have a lot of tech workers and that’s driving up housing costs. And certainly that’s part of it, but the reality is, it’s construction costs that are making it really difficult to get housing built right now," said Liccardo.
He wants people to stop blaming the tech industry for the housing affordability crisis.
“Those of us who recognize that tech has been the lifeblood of our economy - and in many ways our community - are a little frustrated that suddenly folks discovered we have all these problems and that tech should be to blame for all of them.”
Instead, he said a host of state and local policy measures that have stifled housing development and made it more expensive to build new housing and increase the supply.
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