Simply put, San Francisco's spending continues to grow far faster than its income. Number of office vacancies at record high Driven by continued remote work and local hospitality industry efforts delayed recovery City finances are under pressure due to the pandemic. At the same time, city employee salaries and benefits have increased, with some Voting measures If approved by voters, it would increase government costs or reduce revenue in the short term.

San Francisco's predicament is compounded by the following facts: received A massive $636 million in funding was provided by the federal government under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan. This is his first major legislative initiative, a $1.9 trillion spending package. The spending set off an inflationary spiral that raked cash into “blue” states and cities that mismanaged their budgets during the pandemic and displaced residents.

Rather than use the one-time cash injection as an opportunity to rebuild, San Francisco continued with business as usual, resulting in chronic deficits that now threaten to hold back the city's future growth.

Mayor-elect Lurie, a wealthy Lévi-Strauss heir who has worked in the nonprofit sector, has little experience tackling such issues, but he also has few options.

Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days in office?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.