A San Francisco politician whom Elon Musk believes “should be in prison” remained adamant about the cause of his city’s homelessness crisis.
“…absolutely the result of capitalism…”
Representing the City by the Bay’s Tenderloin neighborhood, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisor’s District 5 representative Dean Preston isn’t only an outspoken Democratic Socialist, but the first to be elected to the board in decades. During an interview for the documentary “The Battle for San Francisco” with the UK’s UnHerd, he shared some of his skewed thinking as blamed capitalism instead of failed leftist policies for the city’s decline.
“I think what you’re seeing in the Tenderloin is absolutely the result of capitalism and what happens in capitalism to the people at the bottom rungs,” he argued as his positions were pitted against those of author Michael Shellenberger who penned “San Fransicko.”
“The biggest driver of why folks are on the street is because they lost their jobs, income or were evicted from their homes, usually for not being able to pay the rent,” pushed Preston. “So you have major landlords literally causing folks to lose their homes, and real estate speculation making it impossible for folks to find an affordable place to live.”
Additionally, the supervisor made the case that arresting drug users and removing encampments was “completely counterproductive” and the sporadic nature of those enforcements, like when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited, was “inconsistent.”
Meanwhile, as Shellenberger had shown through interviewing the hardly-wanting indigent, San Francisco’s policies had produced economic advantages for people to remain homeless. “I mean, if we’re going to be realistic,” said a man named James who had relocated from Texas, “they pay you to be homeless here.”
Homeless San Franciscan admits he chose to live on the streets: ‘They pay you to be homeless here’ https://t.co/nce4cw0Sws pic.twitter.com/GdiJYSYBmu
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) February 12, 2022
The author had presented at the time that homeless individuals like the man he interviewed could pull in hundreds of dollars a week in welfare, trade food stamps for drugs and not have to worry about covering rent.
Despite that, as the city embarked on an image campaign to bring back tourism as local shops struggled to contend with out-of-control shoplifting by locking away the majority of their goods, Preston downplayed the combined homeless and drug crises that had led to 620 overdoses in just the first nine months of 2023.
“I don’t think every instance of poverty or addiction or behavioral health issue is a safety threat to someone walking by,” asserted the supervisor. “I mean, there’s a lot of people who are doing things that are very harmful to themselves on the streets, who aren’t necessarily a safety threat.”
Still, Preston maintained that with the rampant crime, “I think we have a very, very bloated police budget. All kinds of waste in the police department. I could cut $100 million out of the department.”
In recent months, billionaire Elon Musk, who has held to keeping X headquartered in San Francisco, has repeatedly called out Preston by name, stating in September “Dean Preston needs to be fired. He is arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco,” and then in October, “Dean Preston should be in prison for what he’s done to San Francisco,” after the politician peddled similar claims about the cause of the city’s woes.
Absolutely.
Also, Dean Preston needs to be fired. He is arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2023
Dean Preston should be in prison for what he’s done to San Francisco
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2023
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Kimmel forces ABC to ‘think long and hard’ about what’s being broadcast under parent company Disney - April 28, 2026
- Don Lemon’s full on hissy fit over ‘saying Trump is terrible’: ‘Drives me f*cking crazy!’ - April 28, 2026
- Rogan fired up that liberal policies are allowing monsters to eat our house pets - December 17, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
