Considering how very non-free-market principles led to the regulation and law that made startup speculation such a hot, bubbly market, I am led to strongly question your underlying premise.<p>You are speaking of a free market that is highly theoretical, because there is no such &quot;free market&quot; in today&#x27;s economy, no matter where you live. However, free market theory suggests that a situation such as SF is not possible under a free market.<p>San Francisco has a great deal of political might, which explains a lot of the founding contexts allowing it to survive in the way it does. Add the fact that employees cannot be held to an non-compete agreement, and you have a bunch of engineers stepping over one another to chase the next six month gig as the number of ridiculous startup options balloons to a totally unsustainable size.