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$150M competition looks to innovators, not government, to boost San Francisco

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Ask not what San Francisco can do for you — ask what you can do for San Francisco.

This twist on the famous JFK quote neatly describes a push to spark ingenuity for public gain in one of California’s great cities. 

Through an initiative called Boundless San Francisco, a billionaire-backed foundation will pay up to three innovators up to $50 million apiece to improve life by the Bay.

It’s great to see a call for civic-minded change directed not at City Hall and beleaguered taxpayers, but at private-sector groups and academics in a position to develop viable plans for innovation.

Too often, people think government is the only “answer” — or that it’s a savior.

And sometimes, quite the opposite. (As Ronald Reagan famously quipped, ”The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:........

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