CLIMATE BUREAUCRATS CONGRATULATE THEMSELVES (AGAIN!) FOR SPENDING TAX DOLLARS

It was a real head-scratcher over at City Hall, where the Santa Barbara City Council endured what KEYT NewsChannel 3-12 charitably called a "well-received" climate progress report. 'Well-received,' for those keeping score, is bureaucrat-speak for 'we all sat through it without falling asleep, mostly, and then approved more funding for ourselves.'

Apparently, our local government's 'Energy and Climate Division Manager' — yes, that's a real job title, funded by your ever-increasing utility bills — stood before the Council to trumpet two years of 'progress.' We assume this 'progress' primarily involves commissioning more studies, attending more conferences on carbon footprints (likely via private jet), and devising new ways to regulate away your freedom and prosperity, all while the actual climate remains stubbornly uncooperative with their agenda.

What the mainstream media, including our friends at KEYT, always seems to miss is the actual price tag of this climate theater. This wasn't a report on measurable environmental improvement; it was an elaborate justification for an ever-expanding bureaucracy, a self-licking ice cream cone of taxpayer-funded 'initiatives' that accomplish little beyond enriching consultants and giving progressive politicians something virtuous to tweet about. Meanwhile, working families and small businesses grapple with ever-higher energy costs, courtesy of these very same 'climate champions' who celebrate their 'progress' from their air-conditioned offices. It’s almost as if the only thing truly progressing is the size of the government payroll.

One has to wonder if anyone on the Council dared to ask what the return on investment was for the hundreds of millions siphoned into these feel-good projects. Or if they questioned whether the city's resources might be better spent, say, fixing the roads, addressing actual crime, or lowering the cost of living rather than chasing the latest global warming chimera. Probably not. Much easier to clap along and pretend you're saving the planet while conveniently ignoring the bill landing squarely in the taxpayers' laps. Our bet is the next 'progress report' will confirm even more 'progress' will require even more of your money.