COUNTY TO 'MAKE HISTORY' BY MURDERING TAX REVENUE, JOB GROWTH!

The Santa Barbara Independent, ever vigilant in its quest to discover ways for the County to out-woke itself, breathlessly reported this week on a Board of Supervisors vote that could 'make history.' And indeed, it will — history as a case study in how to kneecap your local economy under the guise of saving the planet. Our betters in county government are apparently poised to pull the plug on the remaining oil and gas operations, presumably to achieve carbon neutrality through pure, unadulterated magical thinking.

Never mind that these 'phased-out' operations are responsible for good-paying jobs, significant tax revenue, and a critical component of American energy independence. Who needs such trivialities when you can bask in the moral superiority of banning things? The only history these supervisors are interested in making is a new record for the number of businesses leaving Santa Barbara County for greener, less ideologically-constricted pastures. Perhaps they'll fund the ensuing budget deficit with artisanal, fair-trade kale chips.

One can easily connect the dots between the campaign coffers of certain supervisors and the deep pockets of various environmental activist groups, whose primary export is lofty rhetoric, not actual energy. While residents are still reeling from the gas prices that somehow 'President Trump's' policies haven't completely fixed (yet!), our local luminaries are gleefully celebrating the demise of the very industry that keeps the lights on, the cars moving, and the tax base solvent. It's a masterclass in progressive self-sabotage, served up with a side of self-congratulation.

This isn't about environmental stewardship; it's about political theater and pandering to the loudest, most radical voices in the room. The true impact of this 'historic' decision won't be felt by the supervisors in their taxpayer-funded chairs, but by the working families who depend on these industries and the residents who will pay more for everything as a result. But hey, at least we can tell ourselves we're making history, even if that history is a cautionary tale.