☆ Fiscal experts say: Local pols should champion fossil fuels, not iffy alternatives

Splintercell10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Maybe the way to make San Jose more affordable isn’t by demonizing gas appliances, single-family homes, and urban sprawl—say CFR’s Pat Waite and SVGOP’s David G. Johnson. Perhaps local elected officials should reconsider what’s proven effective and reasonable, not environmentally virtue-signal at the expense of (our) cost of living. An Opp Now exclusive.

Pat Waite, Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility president: Local government should address our Bay Area’s exorbitant cost of living by stopping kowtowing to environmentalists and unions.

Environmentalists lobby for sequestering land that could otherwise support housing and for increased housing density via expensive high-rises (mainly rental units) over more desirable and less dense residential dwellings.

Additionally, environmentalists are the driving force behind “clean” energy mandates (increasing the cost of electricity and reducing grid reliability) and mandates for electric vehicles and appliances, which require expensive electrical upgrades to older dwellings.

Unions exacerbate this by lobbying for union labor or prevailing wage requirements in as much construction as possible. This all combines to drive the cost of living beyond the reach of many.

Go Deeper:

• Opinion: If CA cares about “environmental racism,” we have to examine freeway pollution
• Conservatives champion environmental stewardship, despite Left’s incessant “exploiter” labeling
• Analysis: How CEQA makes affordable housing construction a (pricey) nightmare

David G. Johnson, Santa Clara County Republican Party chairman:

1. Stop supporting insane mandates to eliminate fossil fuels: There is simply no need to force people to upgrade their gas water heaters (to “natural” gas) for the negligible savings in Nitrogen Oxide pollution.

2. Streamline the permitting process / cut development fees: Why are building permits in San Jose 10%+ of the cost of the work? Does that add value or speed up the permitting process? No.

3. Stop issuing bonds for school upgrades and property tax increases: Most people do not understand that a property tax increase or a bond gets paid back at 6% over 30 years. The final cost is double where it started. So if you want to renovate a local school, conduct a capital campaign and pay for it essentially with cash, using the lowest responsible bidder—not necessarily a union contractor or even prevailing wage.

4. Stop the ever-increasing cost of water and electricity: Older longtime residents on a fixed income–as well as many young families moving into their first homes—cannot keep up with the ever-increasing costs of water and power. PG&E must be held to account.

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