You generally don't find many people living outside those 17 square miles pining to move there. Its unique amenities (real and perceived) are easy enough to drive or Caltrain or BART to.
Then again, I'm perplexed that tech companies feel so driven to base so many of their employees in the Bay Area at all. They could save 20%+ on compensation to employees combined with providing them a better standard of living (and more family-friendly as well) by opening workplace options in Beaverton, Bothell, Boulder or Boise.
Plus, those employees would be a bit less immediately accessible for an SV competitor to dangle something shiny in front of.
Back when there were blue collar jobs in Santa Clara County.
There still are.
If you don't think there are blue-collar jobs in Santa Clara county, please explain why restaurants, stores, construction companies, plumbing companies, etc. are able to exist.
Not so much the churn of retail that most large cities (suburban sprawls in this case) have.