Startups aren't good in themselves, they're good if they bring about helpful innovations or good products etc.<p>Skirting regulations to privatize a public resource and make money off of it harms society as a whole, so it's better to have as few startups like that as possible.<p>Also, this article claims that this one, widely supported government action is indicative of a "broader trend", but it offers no further evidence and I'm having trouble thinking of many other cases. Arguably, SF has been rather forgiving of companies which skirt regulations without really harming the public - like AirBnB, Uber, or even Google buses.