Housing

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CAPITAL IDEAS – CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It

It is no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above ...
Blog

Latest Sign Housing Crisis is Hurting State’s Economy

Keeping up with the Great California Exodus can become a tedious task. Stories about businesses or people, or both, fleeing the state are so common that its sometimes seems they are blended all into one. Now comes another. “More Californians are considering fleeing the state as they blame sky-high costs, ...
California

California Housing Crisis Prolonged By Policymakers’ Inability To Shed Old Impulses

With every idea offered as a serious “solution,” it becomes clearer why California has a housing crisis. The thinking is stuck on policies that aggravate rather than improve. The latest ill-considered proposal picking up support would enact price-gouging laws to keep rental costs in check. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, ...
CEQA

CEQA: How to mend it since you can’t end it

By Daniel Kolkey It’s no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 ...
Blog

Newsom Eats More Cake in First State of the State

A few weeks back, in writing about Gov. Newsom’s first budget proposal – I noted that the Governor was demonstrating how one could have his cake and eat it, too, in his spending plan for the state. As I watched the Governor’s first State of the State address yesterday, it’s ...
Blog

A Modest Start to Solving the Housing Crisis

San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s proposal to boost home building won’t alone relieve the city’ housing shortage. But as starts go, it’s not a bad one. Breed is rolling out a bill that would kill permits and inspection fees, eliminating “thousands of dollars” in building costs, the San Francisco Chronicle ...
Blog

New Polling Shows Free Market Ideas Still Hold Sway in Liberal California

The first weeks of 2019 have been dominated by the push from emboldened Sacramento liberals to enact measures increasing our tax burden, imposing new regulations on employers, and taking away some of our personal freedom. Most observers argue, based on the massive 2018 Democrat victories, that voters were giving a ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – Bad Laws Cause California’s Homeless Crisis

Ben Smithwick – Bad Laws Cause Homeless Crisis This latest video by John Stossel echoes what PRI’s Kerry Jackson has studied and written about extensively in recent months – well-intentioned laws are exacerbating the state’s housing and homeless crises. As the video concludes, we must unleash the power of free ...
California

Does California Even Know How to Fix Its Housing Problem?

New Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget asks for $500 million to boost construction of housing for “moderate income” Californians. Housing, he said while introducing his first budget, “is the issue.” He is correct. Everyone is aware of the grim state of housing in California. But no one, at least those with enough political influence to shift policy, seems ...
California

California’s Carbon Fixation Allows Lawmakers to Avoid Hard Choices

Sacramento hasn’t yet outlawed gasoline- and diesel-driven automobiles. But it’s on the agenda. In the meantime, the state remains committed to former Gov. Jerry Brown’s goal of flooding California roads with zero-emissions vehicles. The transition, of course, won’t be free. In fact, it could cost as much as $14 billion. ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS – CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It

It is no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above ...
Blog

Latest Sign Housing Crisis is Hurting State’s Economy

Keeping up with the Great California Exodus can become a tedious task. Stories about businesses or people, or both, fleeing the state are so common that its sometimes seems they are blended all into one. Now comes another. “More Californians are considering fleeing the state as they blame sky-high costs, ...
California

California Housing Crisis Prolonged By Policymakers’ Inability To Shed Old Impulses

With every idea offered as a serious “solution,” it becomes clearer why California has a housing crisis. The thinking is stuck on policies that aggravate rather than improve. The latest ill-considered proposal picking up support would enact price-gouging laws to keep rental costs in check. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, ...
CEQA

CEQA: How to mend it since you can’t end it

By Daniel Kolkey It’s no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 ...
Blog

Newsom Eats More Cake in First State of the State

A few weeks back, in writing about Gov. Newsom’s first budget proposal – I noted that the Governor was demonstrating how one could have his cake and eat it, too, in his spending plan for the state. As I watched the Governor’s first State of the State address yesterday, it’s ...
Blog

A Modest Start to Solving the Housing Crisis

San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s proposal to boost home building won’t alone relieve the city’ housing shortage. But as starts go, it’s not a bad one. Breed is rolling out a bill that would kill permits and inspection fees, eliminating “thousands of dollars” in building costs, the San Francisco Chronicle ...
Blog

New Polling Shows Free Market Ideas Still Hold Sway in Liberal California

The first weeks of 2019 have been dominated by the push from emboldened Sacramento liberals to enact measures increasing our tax burden, imposing new regulations on employers, and taking away some of our personal freedom. Most observers argue, based on the massive 2018 Democrat victories, that voters were giving a ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – Bad Laws Cause California’s Homeless Crisis

Ben Smithwick – Bad Laws Cause Homeless Crisis This latest video by John Stossel echoes what PRI’s Kerry Jackson has studied and written about extensively in recent months – well-intentioned laws are exacerbating the state’s housing and homeless crises. As the video concludes, we must unleash the power of free ...
California

Does California Even Know How to Fix Its Housing Problem?

New Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget asks for $500 million to boost construction of housing for “moderate income” Californians. Housing, he said while introducing his first budget, “is the issue.” He is correct. Everyone is aware of the grim state of housing in California. But no one, at least those with enough political influence to shift policy, seems ...
California

California’s Carbon Fixation Allows Lawmakers to Avoid Hard Choices

Sacramento hasn’t yet outlawed gasoline- and diesel-driven automobiles. But it’s on the agenda. In the meantime, the state remains committed to former Gov. Jerry Brown’s goal of flooding California roads with zero-emissions vehicles. The transition, of course, won’t be free. In fact, it could cost as much as $14 billion. ...
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