California legislators chip away at housing crisis; big solution elusive
We know the problem well. We live it. Other than Hawaii, California has the ignominious distinction of leading the nation in housing costs, and not by a little. A San Francisco apartment costs more than one in New York City. A Silicon Valley home is beyond reach of all but the wealthy. A 2015 Legislative Analyst’s Office report said homes here cost two and a half times more than the average national price . It gets worse by the day. Companies expand elsewhere because workers can’t afford to live here. For workers who stay, commutes are interminable because they live far from their jobs. It has taken California decades to get into this mess. Consider what’s coming to be a down payment. No fewer than 15 housing- related bills awaited legislators upon their return Monday. Some would provide tax incentives so the working poor can afford decent housing , and homeless people can find shelter. Others would streamline approval for new homes so millennials can own a piece of the American dr...