Villainizing Tech Jobs

Austin is set to be the new home of the US Army Futures HQ. Congrats ATX. I am not sure what that means, other than the fact that the goverment has recognized ATX as the winner of a nation-wide municipal beauty contest. It is estimated that the new HQ will bring in more tech jobs to recreate the institution from the inside out. But in getting into some of the commetary - the obligatory social media reading occured - and a twitter comment expressed a sentiment I don’t often consder.

Is more tech jobs what we really want in Austin ?

I had never considered the idea that tech jobs, high paying, innovative, tech jobs - were ever a paraiah - outside of places like Seattle, and Oakland. Certainly city planners are graveling at the altar of innovation - See Amazon’s HQ2 Case Study.

Is it a relic of polarized devisiveness that someone would think so ill of tech jobs? I get that you might not like “tech people”, “bro grammers”, and all the other “HBO Sillicon Valley” sterotypes, but would you be in protest if JP Morgan, or Morgan Stanley wanted to put more high paying investment banker jobs in your city?What if Hedge Funds like AQR or Bridgewater moved into town in a big way?

I get that if the pentagon was opening up an HQ2 - maybe you want a small goverment and would rather the washington mess stay within “the district” - or maybe you don’t support any kind of war on moral grounds - and just don’t like that an extension of an armed service is moving to town. I can understand.

But, to me the jump is the generalization to all tech jobs. Maybe it was a gross generalization? But it just had to fit in a tweet. and I am blowing this out of proportion. What are so bad about tech jobs?

My one attempt to conjure up the negatives of a strong influx of tech jobs into a city is that you might get results similar to the SF Bay - where people feel like tech bubbles have lead to a two tier citizenry, which in turn leads to Local Inflation, Gentrification, and the localized realiziation of a widening income gap.

Maybe the commenter felt like she was sitting at the pointed edge of that issue. I would propose that “keeping tech jobs out of your city” feels like the ostrich strategy. The income gap continues to widen just less so in your face. Tech jobs moving to your town lets you realize that perhaps you could change industries and keep your same vocation, but apply it in a new innovative manner.

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