Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Polly Frost's avatar

Bonnie, you are a local treasure. I'm so grateful for your columns because I can't make sense of how Santa Barbara is being run otherwise. To me it seems run for the benefit of government employees, special interest groups and unions. Not for me or other civilian taxpayers.

The government here seems to me - and I hope I'm wrong - to be a grifting operation with several lucrative self-perpetuating hoaxes, one being affordable housing. Through their tax increases, they make it harder and harder for middle class people to continue living here. But voters are seduced by “affordable housing” propositions thinking that will solve the problem and vote them in. And, of course, the tax money just goes to pay for government workers who can afford to live here while the taxpayers' financial problems with living in Santa Barbara only get worse.

After reading Bonnie's column I went over to the Housing Trust Fund website. Good lord, how much bloat can one non-profit organization have? Any money they get would have to go to supporting the organization itself rather than solving anything.

The problems the government says it needs increased taxes to solve? They seem to me to be problems they've created - through their inept problem-solving policies. Franz Kafka would have been right at home in Santa Barbara.

Expand full comment
LT's avatar
Aug 31Edited

Yet another confidence game being played on us, the taxpayer. When will this ever end? Never, it goes on in perpetuity. The way the con works is simple. The politicians calls for voting in pay and pension raises at the expense of the public and in exchange, the unions give political support to those running for office. It’s not complicated. Quid pro quo…I do something for you, you do something for me!

The pension house of cards is not sustainable and will at some point, collapse. Unless of course, the voters keep bailing them out.

Want to become a millionaire? Simple, become a city or county employee and join a public sector union.

Those that own property need to unite and join together just like Howard Jarvis advocated for. Can anyone who owns property imagine what California would look like if Mr. Jarvis never stood up and said enough is enough?

All of this con by the way, is brought to you by the local Democratic machine which controls all the city/county contracts and unions like the SEIU.

To illustrate how confident and arrogant local politicians are in maintaining their power, they won’t even debate the opposition during elections. That’s right our local Congressman, Salud Carbajal won’t even discuss the issues facing us, the voters by REFUSING to debate his challenger, Thomas Cole. Now that’s true power! I guess the jokes on us…what a bunch of suckers!

Expand full comment
55 more comments...

No posts