COUNTY TO 'NEGOTIATE' BIG APARTMENT DEAL: YOUR WALLETS, THEIR PROFITS!

Santa Barbara County, in its infinite wisdom and boundless generosity with *your* money, has decided to 'negotiate' with a Los Angeles developer for a downtown apartment project, as reported by the ever-vigilant Noozhawk. We put 'negotiate' in quotes because, in bureaucratic speak, that usually means a rubber stamp for whatever pre-arranged boondoggle was cooked up over lukewarm lattes and cold-shouldered public input. Another day, another 'public-private partnership' that smells distinctly like public risk, private reward.

This grand plan involves transforming the hallowed grounds of the probation building – a veritable monument to the county's stunning success in addressing societal ills – into swanky new apartments. One can only imagine the kind of 'affordable' housing this L.A. firm, presumably a champion of the common man, will bless us with. More likely, it will be the kind of 'affordable' that requires an offshore bank account or a trust fund, effectively driving up property values for everyone else while providing housing for precisely no one who actually needs it.

And let's not forget the silent partners in these deals: the environmental consultants, the 'community outreach' specialists, and the other assorted hangers-on who will gleefully feast at the public trough before a single shovel breaks ground. While they talk about 'housing solutions,' the real solution is usually finding new ways to spend taxpayer dollars and funnel them to well-connected cronies. It’s a well-worn playbook, dusted off and re-run for another round of Santa Barbara's favorite sport: big government spending.

So, as the county 'negotiates,' remember who always pays the bill, and who always reaps the rewards. Odds are, it won't be you, unless you happen to own shares in a large L.A. development firm. The rest of us just get to enjoy the ensuing traffic snarls and the ever-expanding tax burden, all while being told it's for 'the greater good.' They call it progress; we call it fleecing the flock.