Archive for July 2024
Will “bond fatigue” sink RM4 and the wave of new taxes on November statewide ballot?
Image by NoHoDamon on Flickr. The potential new bond indebtedness appearing on the November ballot may surpass $80bn –will CA voters say “enough is enough”? Ben Christopher at CalMatters explores why voters may say no to RM4 and other super expensive new tax measures. With lawmakers considering a bevy of bond measures in 2024 that could…
Read More☆ Taxation without Fair Allocation: RM4 to make Napa help pay San Francisco’s bills for the next 54 years
If nine Bay Area counties borrow $20 billion together, shouldn’t they each get their fair share back? Turns out the regional housing bond will make smaller counties pay out far more than they get in return. With a local tax, Napa could fulfill its housing need in 16 years. Instead, RM4 would make North Bay…
Read MoreSJ, SF non profits blistered–yet again–for financial mismanagement by independent auditors
On the heels of a savage state audit finding San Jose’s Housing Dept had negligent oversight of fund disbursement to local non profits, comes a new city audit which finds more of the same dating back to 2021. And in SF, the never-ending parade of non profits discovered to have been fleecing the city continues.…
Read MoreGov. Newsom, post-Grant’s Pass, signs order directing cities to get “urgent” with homelessness encampments
Image in Public Domain While some CA cities have dawdled since the Grant’s Pass decision to change their flawed strategies toward addressing inhumane homeless encampments, Newsom appears ready to pressure those cities into greater action. NYT reports. Gov. Gavin Newsom will order California state officials on Thursday to begin dismantling thousands of homeless encampments, according…
Read MoreIs driving in Silicon Valley subsidized?
When free marketeers daylight the massive subsidies needed to operate public transit, transit advocates often retort that private automobile driving receives gov’t subsidies, too. The fearless Marc Joffe explores the question in the Cato at Liberty blog, and finds the transit advocates have a legit point. Subsidizing any form of transportation raises both normative and…
Read MoreCAA: Prop 33 is “extremist” rent control
Image by H. Michael Karshis According to the California Apartment Ass’n, economists and housing experts from Stanford and UC Berkeley warn that Proposition 33 would worsen California’s housing crisis by hindering new affordable housing construction and overturning state laws mandating more affordable housing. Additionally, Proposition 33 would remove protections for homeowners, allowing regulators to control…
Read MoreUpcoming local tax tsunami may be prompting updated tax revolt, says expert
Regional housing tax. Parks tax. Measure E extension. Prop 5. SJ Unified parcel tax. The list could go on, but the threatening tide keeps rising: politicos are coming at Silicon Valley taxpayers with a tidal wave of new taxes–surging over Silicon Valley’s already super high tax rates. But analysts suggest that residents may have had…
Read MoreStatewide rent control initiative continues to split SF liberals
Yesterday’s rent control advocates are suddenly getting cold feet regarding statewide caps on rental prices, as they realize belatedly that their market-busting schemes have constrained new housing development, exacerbating cost of living and homelessness. The usually liberal SF Grow Report says No to Prop 33. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors endorsed Prop 33. That…
Read MoreValley Water releases draft Environmental Impact Report on the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project
On July 12, 2024, Valley Water released the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). This document identifies environmental impacts associated with Valley Water’s plan to build and maintain a series of flood risk reduction improvements along approximately nine miles of Coyote Creek in San José. The improvements would be implemented along…
Read MoreMoney flees CA onerous taxation, regulations, and ridiculous cost of living
Image by Vincepal on Flickr The pandemic lockdowns accelerated flight from states with onerous taxes and a high cost of living. The latest data from the Internal Revenue Service shows that the exodus has continued after life got back to quasi-normal. And CA’s revenue drain–led by Silicon Valley–is the hardest hit. The WSJ reports. The…
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