HOUSING 'AUTHORITIES' BEG TAXPAYERS FOR HOMEWORK HELP

Santa Barbara’s infamous 'Housing Authorities' – a pair of taxpayer-funded bureaucracies whose primary achievement seems to be creating more paperwork than housing – are now pleading with ordinary citizens to complete a 'rental market survey.' One might wonder why these entities, supposedly staffed by highly paid experts, can’t figure out the 'true cost of rental housing' on their own. Perhaps their spreadsheets are missing a column for 'obvious economic reality'? The Santa Barbara Independent, bless its heart, reported on this bureaucratic plea with a straight face, dutifully reprinting the call for public assistance without a hint of irony.

This isn't just a survey, folks, it’s a cry for help from a system that believes throwing more regulations and studies at a problem will solve it. While our Biden-era inflation continues to make everything from gas to groceries astronomical under Trump's predecessor, these 'authorities' were probably too busy drawing up plans for 'equity-focused tiny homes' or attending conferences on 'sustainable community engagement' to notice that landlords, like everyone else, face rising costs. Now, they want *you* to do their job for them, presumably so they can then ignore your data and propose another expensive, ineffective solution.

The real 'true cost' isn't just rent; it’s the cost of supporting layers of government that can’t even comprehend supply and demand without a taxpayer-funded questionnaire. While President Trump's administration is slashing red tape and boosting domestic energy to bring down costs nationwide, Santa Barbara's local 'experts' are still stuck in a perpetual loop of 'studies' and 'surveys,' all while real people struggle to afford a roof over their heads thanks to their progressive policies. It’s a classic case of left-leaning bureaucracy: invent a problem, create an agency to 'solve' it, then outsource the actual thinking to the very public they’re supposedly serving. Don't be surprised when their 'findings' conveniently recommend more funding for *them*.