What if the critics win, and tech sector flees S.F.?

The new store Betabrand on Valencia draws customers with a modern approach for the tech-set on the exterior of an older Mission building on Thursday, February 6, 2014. The Mission District in San Francisco, Calif., is facing a cultural and economic shift as new "clusters of affluence," change the landscape of businesses that cater to wealthier residents made rich by technology jobs. less The new store Betabrand on Valencia draws customers with a modern approach for the tech-set on the exterior of an older Mission building on Thursday, February 6, 2014. The Mission District in San Francisco, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close What if the critics win, and tech sector flees S.F.? 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

So here's a question for the people who keep shouting that tech workers and their money are ruining San Francisco:

What if you win?

What if it all works out just as you'd like? The tech companies decide it isn't worth the trouble to try to run a business in San Francisco. The workers say they are tired of being hassled and mocked in the neighborhoods where they live.

And they leave.

As Joe Garofoli's recent Chronicle story reminded us, there are plenty of places that would be happy to have them. Some of them right here, like the Excelsior district, just a few blocks from the trendy Mission, which the critics say the tech workers are ruining.

But there's also Berkeley. And Oakland. And Texas, for that matter, where the tax rates are much lower. Texas Gov. Rick Perry came to Silicon Valley a year ago to roll out the red carpet and encourage tech companies to move there.

Suppose the "Twitter Miracle" on Mid-Market dries up. Twitter has been the vanguard of a wave of tech companies that are revitalizing that blighted stretch of the city. They've moved in, renovated long-empty buildings, spurred the construction of new ones, and begun to turn around one of the city's most persistent problem areas.

Of course, part of the reason they came in the first place was that the city offered them a nice tax break for six years. But now, entering the third full year, the companies are likely to take a hard look at how things are working out.

What if the companies say: You know, part of the reason we located here was because we thought our employees would love the city and quality of life. But now we've been turned into ideological punching bags. Our firms are criticized for not doing enough in the community, despite hefty donations. (Twitter, to pick an example, has pledged $388,000 to Tenderloin schools and charities.)

And our employees are being mocked, hassled and trash-talked. It's unpleasant. They don't like it.

And then there are the employees who commute on the tech shuttles - the "Google buses" - to Silicon Valley and other points south of the city. They live here but work somewhere else. They're not really us, detractors say, they're just driving up our housing costs.

So what if all those companies pull out and take their employees with them?

Will the protesters be happy?

Sure, some of them will be. They will cling to the fantasy that rents will magically drop, we'll build affordable housing out of seashells and rainbows, and nothing in San Francisco will change. Ever.

But take another look at that six-block Mid-Market corridor and picture it with renovated, but empty, buildings. If the tech companies go, who will move in? Over the years there have been many attempts to turn that area around with a marked lack of success. These are firms with money and vision who moved to a blighted area and revived it. Good luck finding others who want to do that. And we're back where we started.

OK, we get the affordable housing premise. Rents are skyrocketing. But that point has been made. According to the recent Chamber of Commerce survey, affordability is the city's No. 1 problem. Efforts are being made to find ways to keep families and blue-collar workers here. And this is a dynamic city. We can do that.

But be careful what you wish for. You can't force engineers in their 20s who are making a nice salary to think like you.

Recently I was talking to a tech critic who has lived in the Mission for years. She said that an older woman, a longtime tenant, had recently been evicted from her apartment. The landlord turned the building into condos and a woman from one of the tech companies bought the place and moved in.

"So none of us talk to her," the critic said.

Right. Because she's the problem.