Why Scott Wiener’s Proposed Bridge Toll Increase Would Hurt The Poor And San Francisco

Scott Wiener is attacked a lot, and most of it is unfair. There is no evidence that he is a groomer or a pedophile or any of the other nasty things right wing media has said about him. A lot of the attacks on Wiener are rooted in homophobia and that’s unfortunate. But there is one thing that he is, and that thing is common among many of San Francisco’s politicians – he’s an out of touch elite. Yes, I know he’s funny on TikTok and takes public transit sometimes, but that doesn’t mean anything. 

When it comes to politicians, I don’t care about their personal lives at all. It’s irrelevant. I don’t care what they look like, who they fuck, or what their pronouns are. I care about the legislation they introduce, and Scott Wiener has been less than ideal on that front. He’s not the worst, he’s been on the right side of the housing debate for a while, and for that I have to give the man credit, but his idea to “save” BART is a double edged sword. 

San Francisco is currently struggling with an avalanche of bad press and that bad press is having an effect. Do you know what that effect is? People don’t want to go to San Francisco. Charging more to get across a bridge that goes to a destination Americans are being warned to avoid is a bad idea. You should make the fucking bridge free on the weekends and open all the parking garages up so people can see there’s more to San Francisco than fentanyl and feces. 

But that’s not the only problem. 

There are tons of low income workers who go across that bridge every single day, and they’re not doing it  for the picturesque views of the skyline reflecting off of San Francisco Bay; they’re doing it because they have to. 

When drafting this policy idea, did Scott think about that? 

Even without the toll increase, the Bay Area isn’t a hospitable place to be poor. California has the highest poverty rate in the United States, the Bay Area has some of the most intense income inequality in the world and many of us will never have a shot of owning a home anywhere in or near San Francisco. 

And what about people in Vallejo and the rest of Solano County? Vallejo is the stronghold of the Bay Area’s working class and its most diverse city. What this would effectively do is penalize them. The poorest people in the poorest city in one of America’s richest regions will have to pay twice when their county (Solano) doesn’t even fucking have BART? When I lived in Vallejo, I took the bus to El Cerrito or Walnut Creek just to get on the train. Do you know what the fare was? The price of bridge toll. This is fucked.

I know that Scott Wiener went to Harvard, so I’m sure he’s not used to people saying this to him, but his idea is fucking dumb. I swear the Ivy League doesn’t prove or produce intellect, it just complicates stupidity with litigious word salad rooted in Latin to intimidate poor people out of questioning those among its ranks. Trump went to Wharton. Who gives a fuck?

I don’t hate Scott Wiener. I actually like some of what he’s doing. I even admire some of what he’s doing. I remember him wearing high heels in a video and felt like it was a badass way to combat all of the vitriol from Fox News and homophobes. The only thing I have a problem with is when those heels are standing on our necks. You’re rich. Many of your friends are rich. You went to Harvard. If you need money, ask them. 

So, in the words of Dr. Evil: “How about nooooo, Scott!” 

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