Right or wrong, agree or disagree, common sense or no sense, if your thinking matches up with the majority, you are the winner. Conversely, being in the minority becomes, by default, the loser.
California has a history of being on the winning side of creativity. However, like the Roman Empire, the Golden State has lost its luster. Politicians continue to defy gravity and suck residents dry with taxes and obtuse legislation that helps few and hurt many.
Taxpayer suspicions regarding waste, fraud and abuse are being exposed daily in Washington D.C. Taxpayers are also smart enough to know this crippling virus is not restricted to our Federal government.
Legislators in California can’t seem to get a timely audit out of our state auditors. The audits have been late for years. And, if you can believe it, recently as much as a year. The 2023 audit of state finances was published this month.
This leads me to ask, “How can you build a balanced budget in the dark?” If California legislators can approve a budget in the dark, is it possible questionable expenses services, grants and programs are being approved? Common sense would usually dictate replacing whoever is doing the audits and go out for bid.
Oh, that’s right, this is California. We do things differently here.
Budgeting isn’t the only place California ties itself up in knots. California housing ranks #2 for unaffordability in the U.S. And one of the biggest factors in the stratospheric cost of California housing is the California Environmental Quality Act.
When builders face years of delay and possible litigation, that adds millions in costs and keeps thousands of homes from market. But there may be light at the end of this tunnel, too. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the State Assembly to exempt certain urban infill developments from CEQA requirements.
If this bill passes, we’re still a long way from seeing any benefits. In the meantime, the Santa Clara City Council could focus on programs to make the city inviting for housing developers. New development is a sure-fire way to increase city revenues, and maybe even find the money for the rest of the city’s unfunded infrastructure needs.
What do you think?
Newsom fiddled while California burned.”