US poll: Silicon Valley is too powerful, has lost its moral compass, majority say

Meta (formerly Facebook) corporate headquarters is seen in Menlo Park, California. Among registered voters, 80% of those responding to the poll blamed Silicon Valley’s tech industry for driving up housing and living costs, and 75% said the industry had too much power and influence. Sixty-nine percent said Silicon Valley had lost its moral compass. — AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Alex Woods once expected the Silicon Valley technology industry and its world-changing innovations to lift up everyone in the Bay Area.

Lately, though, as the region’s cost of living has soared, traffic has worsened, and homelessness and blight have spread, the 38-year-old customer-service representative’s views have changed.