Experts Expound: Affordability

Both legislative leaders have said their primary goal this year is to advance legislation to make California more affordable. With that in mind, we asked our expert panel this question:

What one suggestion would you make to help them achieve that goal?

I’m not an expert on cost-of-living issues, but I would think one of the easiest ways would be to lower the state tax on gasoline. Let’s face it, there are just limited ways the Legislature and governor can impact the price of things.

They could deal with the recent Air Resources Board decision — raising gas prices on all California businesses and families.

Mandatory economics 101 course for members and staff to make sure everyone understands market drivers of inflation and available control mechanisms.

More affordable for whom? Seems folks sitting high on the economic ladder are doing just fine, even with recent inflationary spikes. I’d suggest targeting legislation to help lower- and middle-income Californians. I haven’t the foggiest notion what that might be, but it seems legislative staff might be able to come up with a few ideas – as long as their bosses don’t get in the way.

There is a definite connection between green policies and the price of energy. The transition to zero carbon electricity and zero emission tailpipes isn’t free, even if it pays for itself in the long run with health benefits and fuel savings.  There is 150 years of infrastructure build for the old way, and switching over in 10, 15 or even 20 years is a fast transition. Leadership said a couple of things 1) be climate leaders and 2) reduce the cost of energy. For the next decade, those are opposing goals.

This last response seems right to me. California continues to be terrific for upper income people but difficult for others. Seems like key difficulties are housing costs, price of gas, water, groceries, and power. California government can influence some of those costs, but a different course is politically unlikely. Oil companies, ag, and utilities are regularly political targets, either with mandates or explicit added costs.

Affordability is in the eye of the beholder; much of the bellyaching about the cost of living in California comes from middle- and upper-income families whose home equity has shot thru the roof. However, we do know there is rising income inequality. One way to fix that? A proposal similar to one being advanced by NY City Mayor Eric Adams to eliminate the income tax for the poorest. Simple and effective.

There’s no one suggestion that would fix our affordability crisis; however, a good start would be for California leadership to rethink the wasteful Capitol Annex Project and instead use the hundreds of millions of dollars on critical safety net programs. In addition, passing PBM reform would put money back in the pockets of working Californians, especially since several other states (even Florida!!) have already started regulating these pharmacy and patient bullying middlemen.

Housing is at the core of California’s affordability challenge. We need a housing strategy that tackles everything from homelessness to affordable development. Expanding ‘housing first’ programs can provide stable homes and essential services for those experiencing homelessness. But simultaneously, we need to boost the housing supply by streamlining permits, reforming CEQA, and encouraging construction near transit and job hubs. Preserving affordable units is just as important, and – for middle-income families – building more ‘missing middle’ housing like duplexes and townhomes can create attainable options. The state must address these issues in tandem, rather than piece meal, to ensure meaningful progress on affordability.

Legislative leaders set a great number of goals in California and affordability is a laudable one. But what we don’t seem ready to wrestle with is the extremely limited ability of California government to deliver on any of its promises. In terms of affordability that is within our control, it’s mainly housing and energy. But are we actually going to reverse decades of orthodoxy on climate policy and greatly reduce the barriers to building stick frame homes on greenfields or vastly reduce the price of infill development through reducing the number and complexity of our codes and regulations? Are we finally going to understand that ‘affordable housing’ is not a solution for affordability? Are we going to make it easier to extract and refine oil and gas in California which is essential for reducing gas prices? I don’t see us doing anything in these areas so it’s difficult for me to see how these are not, again, empty promises for all of the good intentions behind them.

Prioritize reversing the reliance on imported oil and supporting domestic oil production. The oil industry is critical to California’s economy, affecting nearly every sector—from transportation and construction to agriculture and manufacturing. Oil isn’t just about fuel; it is a key element in countless consumer goods, from clothing to medical supplies. Energy costs directly influence the prices of goods and services, and rising fuel costs drive up transportation and production expenses, which are ultimately passed on to consumers.

Probably the single biggest bang-for-buck investment re: affordability would be in bringing electricity costs down. In a perfect world, breaking PG&E up into many smaller locally controlled municipal utility districts would be the obvious solution, but I suspect that is political poison. Barring that, subsidies for an extensive rooftop solar program seem like a no-brainer. Nothing brings your electricity costs down like having the sun power your home for free half the year.

Our panel of experts: Elizabeth Ashford, Hector Barajas, A.G. Block, Barry Brokaw, Samantha Corbin, Jon Costantino, Richard Costigan, Tim Foster, Rex Frazier, John Howard, Fiona Hutton, Gale Kaufman, Steven Maviglio, Mike MeCey, Paul Mitchell, Barbara O’Connor, Jack Ohman, Kassy Perry, Matt Rexroad, Garry South, Paula Treat, Micah Weinberg, Bill Wong, Daniel Zingale