As a statewide political force, California’s conservative voters are disenfranchised. Almost no politicians holding state office speak for conservatives, few court rulings favor conservatives, and nearly everywhere, conservative values are discredited or ignored by a hostile press. But California’s political landscape could be poised for dramatic shifts. Even now, after more than a decade of...
Rapper Biggie Smalls said it best: “Mo Money” means “Mo Problems.” For proof, consider that Californians have generously contributed billions of dollars to solve the problem of homelessness – and the situation has only deteriorated. In 2016, Los Angeles voters approved Proposition HHH, taxing themselves in order to house the homeless. Supporters recently trumpeted their...
LAUSD parcel tax measure goes down, and the district is still in charge…for now. If you live in Los Angeles, the thud you heard last Tuesday was the Los Angeles Unified School District’s parcel tax measure crashing to earth. Its goal was to raise $500 million annually over a 12-year period. Thus, owners of large...
Solutions to California’s housing shortage invariably focus on increasing the density of preexisting cities and suburbs. Legislative solutions include SB 375, passed in 2008, which “incentivizes” cities and counties to approve high density land developments, and the failed (this time) SB 50, which would have forced cities and counties to approve high density development proposals. One cannot...
Reluctance to Rezone Unused Retail Areas to Residential Pension liabilities at the civic level have led to public officials refusing to rezone obsolete commercial properties for conversion to residential use. Demand for commercial real estate space has diminished since the rise of digital commerce and the convenience of home delivery. Unfortunately, cities are fervently holding...
The “WWHD Conference — What Would Howard Ahmanson, Sr., Do?” — was held August 1, 2018, the year marking the 50th anniversary of my father’s death. I decided I wanted to sponsor it, mostly to honor him. In the tumultuous year of 1968, when Howard Sr. died, he owned Home Savings and Loan, the largest savings...
California, the welcoming sanctuary state, has a population on track to break 40 million by the end of this year. Its highway system was designed to handle a population of 20 million. Its cities, bound by legislated “urban containment,” are 3.5 million homes short of what would meet current housing needs. As a result, commuters spend hours stuck in...
When discussing the seemingly intractable and growing problem of homeless people living in California, journalists reporting on the issue don’t spend enough time questioning the numbers, much less the policies driving the insane numbers. A recent article in the San Jose Mercury provides a perfect example. The article gets off to a good start with a provocative, and very...
California’s political elites are at odds with history and the natural preferences of millions of Californians. The good life in California is out of reach to ordinary people. The reason for that is simple: homes cost too much, energy costs too much, water costs too much, and transportation infrastructure is inadequate. In each of these...
One of the most frustrating contradictions inherent in the policies being enacted by California’s one-party state goes something like this: We are inviting the welfare cases of America and the expatriates of the world to move here, while simultaneously enacting environmental policies that make it extremely time consuming and expensive to build anything. No wonder there’s a “housing crisis.” Until demand...
There are obvious reasons the median home price in California is $544,900, whereas in the United States it is only $220,100. In California, demand exceeds supply. And supply is constrained because of unwarranted environmental laws such as SB 375 that have made it nearly impossible to build housing outside the “urban service boundary.” These laws have...
From the earliest settlement of the country, Americans have looked at their homes and apartments as critical elements of their own aspirations for a better life. In good times, when construction is strong, the opportunities for better, more spacious and congenial housing—whether for buyers or renters—tends to increase. But in harsher conditions, when there has...