Fake Housing Crisis

• In California, there is not a “housing crisis” despite politicians’ statements indicating more housing is drastically needed. The programs set in place, and future programs to deal with this situation are unnecessary and an unneeded epense and regulatory burden on local housing authorities.
• Surprisingly, state politicians are ignoring significant factors such as drastic water shortages in the states in their attempts to force additional housing units to be built in areas that cannot support a growing population. Future crisis of water availability, as well as other infrastructure such a schools are not contemplated in the plans of politicians.

Vacancy. Have you seen anyone recently circling your neighborhood, mattress tied to the roof of their car? I haven’t either. Over 180,000 people have officially left the state of California and permanently taken up residence in other states. California is the fastest declining state in US as a percent of national residents. It has lost a seat in the House (which is based on population size). Many are familiar with U-Haul statistics indicating one-way rentals leaving or arriving at states, which is a significant indicator of people relocating. They usually get a moving company for much of their possessions and a trailer or truck one-way for smaller personal items. California ranks number one in one-way rentals leaving the state, and last in one-way rentals arriving at the state. This has been true for at least the last 4 years. Comedians even make jokes that it costs $2,000 to rent leaving California but arrivals can bring the rental back for free. For every one of these net losses, another housing unit becomes vacant in the state. There are tens of thousands of vacancies created each year, just based on this statistic, and other stats that show high flight from California as well.

Not only that, but California urban and suburban areas are losing population in many areas and have declining population growth in others, due to the ability to work remotely if you’re not in a customer-facing or onsite position. Since these suburban and urban areas are the largest areas of population concentrations, the vacancies created are in the highest need areas for employment.

So why are California politicians at the state and local levels insisting there is a housing shortage? Well, the simple answer is to follow the $, which in this state means look toward their compromised objectivity for the construction, housing, and real estate lobbies. It would not be an overstatement to say every state politician is tightly linked to those industries by… $. First, many of them have made or are currently making big bucks by real estate activities, not to mention involvements with many associates in those fields who are friends or who have business interests. Second, stimulating the economic by property legislation is a key objeftive of many in power in government. Third, continued real estate legislative activities allow for more and more government involvement in local politics, or if the politicians are already local, more reason for property owners to be subject to control by their elected officials and bureaucracy.

Getting back to purported housing crisis… Obviously, the laws of supply and demand are pushing housing costs up in California, dramatically and quickly. What that eventually does is raise the cost of living in this desirable state. For even though the state’s cachet is seriously diminished since more fiscally responsible politicians have run it (compare Earl Warren, Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger with the current give-away artist Gavin Newsome), there still is a strong motivation for many to move to the largest and most diverse and desirable climate and economy. Well, that’s the law of supply and demand for you. People in everyday jobs in California, and I’m talking grocery clerks, auto mechanics, accounts payable administrators, nurses, and so forth, including me, have salaries double that of those living in states such as Iowa, North Dakota, and Arkansas. That is also due to the law of supply and demand (for labor). Businesses will compete for employees, and that will drive salaries up to the level where real estate is affordable. 

Additionally, state authorities are forcing local governments to provide housing based on allocations that are untenable and that do not recognize the local needs, infrastructure capabilities, and constraints such as land availability. Draconically, the state has suspended local zoning laws to force overpopulation in many areas that are already “built out,” ignoring the significant vacant land available in the state, where expansion could eventually take place.

The best thing to do is to leave the real estate marketplace itself to make the adjustments needed to respond to housing needs. But wait, there’s more. California government is the most expensive, based on value provided, in US, and I am including the US government in that. For approximately 10% of each labor dollar, California is providing government services that fall way below that provided in many of those lower cost states referred to earlier. The crime and safety provisions for the residents falls far lower, prevention of homeless is nonexistent, sanitation and curatorship of public lands and property is lacking, infrastructure maintenance and development is sub-par, and the educational system, once revered worldwide, is now distained within the state and also worldwide. The one thing that hasn’t been able to be mucked with is the climate. Politicians have not yet discovered a way to deteriorate that. 

The “housing crisis” helps provide cover for politicians failures to the electorate in the state of California. Giving them more control over it via them manufacturing a crisis is the next worst thing we can do.