OCHOA 1

CarolinaOchoa
Dr.McLaughlin
Abstract/AnnotatedBibliography
March18,2015

Abstract
Itsdifficulttoimaginepovertyorhomelessnessoccurringinalandofvast
wealthandtechnologicaladvances.Onemayevenquestiontheplausibilityofsucha
possibility.Unfortunately,itisarealityforalargenumberofCaliforniaresidents,whom
liveinindigenceand/oronthestreetsnearsomeoftheworldslargestandlucrativetech
companies.SiliconValleyisanareainthegoldenstateofCaliforniathatisgenerally
knownforitsrichesandastheepicenterfortechcompaniessuchasFacebookand
Google,butitisgenerallyunknownforitsmassincomeinequalityandhomelessness.
Whyisthisthecase?Technologyseemstobecausingthepovertyandthedisparityfelt
bythiscommunity,buthow?Thisreportwilldemonstratetherelevanceandimportance
ofthisotherwiseunnoticedissue(suburbanpoverty)andspecificallytheeffect
technologyhasoncausingandimpactingthisissue.

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AnnotatedBibliography
Bohn,Sarah,CarolineDanielson,MattLevin,MarybethMattingly,andChristopherWimer.
TheCaliforniaPovertyMeasure:ANewLookattheSocialSafetyNet.Rep.Stanford
CenteronPovertyandInequality,Oct.2013.Web.16Mar.2015.

ThisreportdocumentsthepovertyconditionsinCaliforniaandstressestheimportance
safetynetprogramsforpovertyhaveonloweringthenumberofCaliforniansinpoverty.
Povertythresholdswerecalculatedforthecounties(low,mid,orhigh)ofCalifornia.
SomeofthehighercostingcountiesincludeSanMateo,SanFrancisco,andSantaClara,
homezeroofSiliconValley.SanMateohasanofficialpovertyrateofabout6.7%,but
theCPMcalculatedanunderestimated18.4%povertyrateforresidentsofthecounty(9,
seeCaliforniaPovertyRatesbyCounty).Inaddition,thereportalsoindicatesthathigh
housingcostinheavilypopulatedareasinthestateareincreasingthepovertyrates.If
housingcostwereloweredtoaffordableprices,thenpovertywoulddecreaseby7%for
allpeopleaffected(21).Thisreporthelpstoestablishtheprominencepovertyhasonthe
stateandonitscounties.Furthermore,itdemonstratestheaffectshighcost,whichmake
safetynetprogramssuchasreducedlunchandCalFreshanecessitytopreventpoverty
ratesfromincreasing.

Elinson, Zusha. "U.S. News: Priced Out of Silicon Valley --- Boom Brings Surge in Housing
Costs, Push to Ban People from Living in Vehicles." Wall Street Journal Apr 09 2014,
Eastern Edition Ed. ProQuest. 19 Mar. 2015

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In this article, the story of a man who fell into homelessness in Silicon Valley is told. His
story began 30 years ago as a man working in one of the tech companies of Silicon Valley
making about $120,000 annually. He was living comfortably until he was laid off from
his job. He had savings, but those quickly disappeared with the expensive living cost of
the valley. Soon, he couldnt afford his $2000 a month rent (for an apartment) with his
only source of income being a $1700 a month Social Security check. He was then forced
to live in his camper, shower at his gym, and eat a daily $1.29 breakfast from
McDonalds. This article can help to stress the importance of this issue of poverty and
homelessness by demonstrating to the audience how anyone can fall into poverty.
However, in the article, the mans stepson commented that he didnt know how to
manage money fiscally, but the article also sites that the median income is 75% higher
than the national average, suggesting a high living cost and how perilous it can be for one
to lose their job in such an expensive area. This article shows the figures for living in the
area and helps in illustrating the expensive lifestyle of the valley.

Hepler,Lauren."Stanford:SiliconValleyPovertyWorsethanPreviouslyEstimatedSilicon
ValleyBusinessJournal."SiliconValleyBusinessJournal.SiliconValleyBusiness
Journal,1Oct.2013.Web.16Mar.2015.

Inthisarticle,LaurenHeplerreportsthatdespitethereputationofSiliconValleyasbeing
alandofrichpeople,morethan18percentliveinpoverty.Astudywasconductedby
theStanfordUniversityCenteronPovertyandInequalityandthePublicPolicyInstitute

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ofCaliforniatoaccuratelymeasuretheotherwiseignoredhighlivingcost,large
undocumentedimmigrantcommunity,andunderreportedrelianceonsocialsafetynet
programs.Theproblemofthehighcostoflivingisthatmanyresidentsarenothighpaid
CEOsoremployeesofthenumeroustechcompaniessurroundingtheSiliconValley
area,makingthemvulnerabletopoverty.Thisinformationontheanalysisofmany
populationgroupsandareashelpstopaintthepictureofpovertyinanotherwisepretty
picture.Thisinformationwasusefulingatheringdataonthepovertydilemmaandalso
helpsinprovingthatthereispovertyoccurringinSiliconValleythatisworrisome.

Keen,Andrew.TheInternetIsNottheAnswer.TunbridgeWells:Atlantic,2015.Print.

ThisbookwaswrittenbyanentrepreneurinthetechindustriesofSiliconValley,
AndrewKeen,andexplainshowtheInternethasimpactedsociety.Thisbooktalksabout
thelargedisparityinincomeandunstablejobmarketcomingaboutfromtechindustries.
Despitethemassiveamountsthesecorporationsmake,employmentdoesnotappeartobe
augmenting.ThepopularmessagingappWhatsUpsellsfor$19billion,yetonly
employsfiftyfivepeople(193).Notonlythat,theirtreatmentofunskilledworkersis
awful,withcorporationssuchasAmazonbeingdescribedasmostegregiouslyruthless
corporationsinAmerica,beingcomparedtoWalMart,infamouslyknownforpoor
treatmentandpaymentofworkers(49).Techindustrieshavecreatedjobs,buttheyare
destroyingjobsbymonopolizingcastswathsofourinformationeconomy,suchasis
thecasewithGoogle(36).Also,corporationsaretakingmoneyoutoftheeconomy

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throughtaxcutsandtheservicestheyprovide.Thissourcemaybeinclinedtosomebias,
butKeensomefirsthandexperiencefromworkinginthetechindustriesandlivingin
SiliconValleyformorethan20years.

Massa,Rachel,comp."2015SiliconValleyIndex."Boom:AJournalofCalifornia5.1(2015):
188.JointVentureSiliconValley,Inc,2015.Web.24Mar.2015.

ThissourceistheSiliconValleyIndexthatcomprehensivelymeasurestheeconomyand
conditionsofthecommunity.Thisreportisconductedannuallyandprovidesdetailed
informationtoshowabetterpictureoftheoverallhealthoftheSiliconValley
community.Thissourcefeatureskeypointsoftheeconomy,suchasemployment,
income,housing,andinnovationandentrepreneurship.Someinterestingpointsofthis
reportarethefactsthatjobgrowthhaveincreasedinpartbecauseofSiliconValleyand
thatdisparitybetweenincomesisgreat.WagesearnedbytheTier1ofthevalleyare
about$120,000,whiletheyarearound$60,000forthemiddleandabout$30,000forthe
bottomTier.Moreover,accordingtothereport,nearly30%ofSiliconValleys
populationlivesbelowtheSelfSufficiencyStandard.Thissourcewillbehelpfulin
showinghowlivinginSiliconValleycanbeexpensiveanddifficult.Also,thisreport
includesfiguresfrompastyears,comparingandcontrastingthemtothepresent,which
willbehelpfulinshowingthechangedthatoccurredintheValley.

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SiliconValley.Prod.RandallMacLowryandTracyH.Strain.PBS,2013.Documentary.
ThisdocumentarytellsthehistoryofthebirthofSiliconValley.OriginalcalledThe
ValleyofHeartsDelight,theSantaClaraValleyduringthemid20thcenturywasaplace
ofagriculturalcharminsteadoftechnologicalmarvel.Thelandwasfilledwithmile[s]
uponlush,greenmile[s]offruittrees,heavywithapricots,cherries,andalmonds.The
waveofelectronicssweptoverthisareawhenrenownedphysicistWilliamShockleyleft
hispositionatBellTelephoneLaboratories,awellknownprivateresearchand
developmentfirminNewJersey,tostarthisowncompanyinTheValleyofHearts
Delight,aplacewherehehadspecialtiesto,inadditiontothecheaplandbeingoffered
byStanfordUniversityinhopesofluringaerospaceandelectronicscompaniestothe
area.AsaresultofShockleysambitiontoexploitthecommercialpotentialofthe
transistorandmakeitthecornerstoneofalargeandpotentiallylucrativenewindustry,
leadinghimtothevalley,manynewtechfirmsandindustrieswerecreated.This
documentaryhelpsinunderstandingtheformationofthevalleyfromfarmlandto
machinelandandgivesthebackgroundinformationofthattransformation.

Pellow,DavidN.,andLisaSunHee.Park.TheSiliconValleyofDreams:Environmental
Injustice,ImmigrantWorkers,andtheHightechGlobalEconomy.NewYork:NewYork
UP,2002.Print.

InthisbookwrittenbyAssociateProfessorDavidNaguibPellowandAssistantProfessor
fromUCSanDiego,theproblemsofSiliconValleycausedbythetechcompaniesare

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discussed.Thehistoryofthevalleyisdiscussed,revealingthenatureofthevalleyas
beingaplaceoflaborexploitation.Beforetheriseofthemachines,theSantaClaravalley
andareassurroundingitreliedontheagriculturalindustry.Now,itreliesheavilyon
technologyandcheaplabor.Strangelyenough,inaplacewherelivingandhousingis
expensive,housescostingamilliondollarsandtheaveragewagenear$50,000in1998
(andcoststillrising),workersarepoorlypaid,bringhomelessthan$10,000ayearin
SiliconValley[aftertaxesforthe1998year](23,87).In2001,theaveragecostofa
houseinthevalleywas$450,000,makingeventhecheapesthousingpossibleinthearea
impossibleforalowwage,unskilledworker(87).Inaddition,thisbooktalksabouthow
temporaryjobemploymentisincreasinginthevalley,offeringlittlejobsecurityand
barelyanybenefits(health,accidents,discounts)(154).Thisbookofferscredible
informationontheimpactSiliconValleyhashadontheenvironmentandpeopleofthe
areaandhelpstoshowtheconsequencesofthetechindustriesinthevalleyandevenina
globalsetting.

Sutter,JohnD."ThePoorKidsofSiliconValley."CNN.CableNewsNetwork,2015.Web.04
Mar.2015.

Inthisinteractivenewsarticle,CNNsOpinionJohnSutterexposesthecrisisofpoverty
inSiliconValley.InSiliconValley,themedianincomehouseholdisroughlyaround
$88,200$91,702,nearlydoublethecountrysaverageof$53,064.Thisincreasedin
medianincomecorrelateswithincreaseinlivingexpenses,especiallywithhousing.One

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resident,NicoleJones,rentsagaragefor$1000amonthwheresheandherbabylive.
Anotherfamily,althoughthefather,Rich,currentlyhasaconstructionjobandthe
mother,Stacy,workedasareceptionist,losttheirhomeandliveinashelterwiththeir
children.MedianrentallistpriceinSanMateoCountryis$2,975permonth,$35,700
peryear.Theincreaseofhousingprices,andoflivingoverallinthevalley,canbe
attributedtothesuccessofnearbytechcompaniessuchasGoogle,Apple,andFacebook.
Thereareprogramstohelpfamiliesandindividualshavemeansforaffordablehousing,
butwaitinglistcantakemonthstoyears.MayorSamLiccardoofSanJosesays,
Housingcostshavedrivenfamiliesoutoftheirhomesandintothestreets.This
informationisusedingivingprimarysourcesfrompeoplewholiveandhaveexperienced
suchhardships.Interviewshadbeenconductedandtheinformationprovidedhascredible
sources.However,thisarticledoesexpresssomeopinionforSutter,althoughtheyare
backedupbyresearchhehasconductedonthisissue.

Swartz,Jon."StrugglingintheShadowofSiliconValleyWealth."USAToday.Gannett,11
Nov.2014.Web.10Mar.2015.

Inthisarticle,USATodaysSiliconValleybasedtechreporterJonSwartzdetailsthe
hardshipsandprogressoccurringinSiliconValleyasaresultof,respectively,income
inequalityandphilanthropy.Swartzuseshousingdatatoshowhowthedisparitybetween
thehavesandthehavenots.TheaveragehomeintheSanFranciscoBayAreasells

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for$1million,andmostapartmentsrentformorethan$2,500amonth.Thismakesit
difficultforthose,suchasBlacksandHispanics,whoworkinsidecompaniessuchas
GoogleandFacebookbutareemployedbyoutsidecontractors,[and]typicallyearnlow
wagesandfew,ifany,benefitstofindaffordablehousing,forcingthemtolivein
sheltersorcars.ThereismentionofSanMateoCountybeingthethirdrichestinthe
state,yethomelessnessstillexisting.Furthermore,inSanFrancisco,whiletechjobs
[have]risenup56%[and]unemploymentdown4.4%,housingpricesarerisingata20%
rate.Thisarticlehelpstoexplainwhyhomelessnessisoccurringinsuchawealthyarea.
Thefactthathousingpricesarerisingatatremendousratemakeitincreasinglydifficult
forthoseearninglowerwagestofindreasonablepricedhousing.