SUPERVISORS' JAIL PHONE DEAL: 'EQUITY' FOR CONS, TAXPAYERS GET THE BILL

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom and endless pursuit of 'social justice,' just rubber-stamped an amendment to their inmate communications contract with ViaPath Technologies. Ostensibly, it’s about aligning with California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rate 'frameworks' — which is progressive-speak for making sure the good people behind bars have all the discounted calls they can handle, funded by those of us who still believe in consequences. This is the predictable outcome when the state's regulatory busybodies decide that the free market isn't 'equitable' enough for convicted criminals.

While law-abiding citizens are watching their utility bills skyrocket thanks to ludicrous 'green' mandates and bloated government bureaucracy, our esteemed supervisors are bending over backward to subsidize phone calls for inmates. The very same folks who cry poverty when it comes to fixing crumbling roads or actually funding law enforcement properly suddenly find an endless well of cash to ensure 'incarcerated persons' (they can't even say 'prisoners' anymore without clutching pearls) maintain robust communication channels. The actual story here, which the Board of Supervisors' bland agenda item meticulously avoids, is the continued ideological capture of local governance by those who prioritize criminal comfort over public safety and fiscal sanity.

And let’s not overlook the classic CEQA dodge. Because, naturally, providing cheaper phone calls for those who've run afoul of the law has absolutely no environmental impact, unlike, say, building a new apartment complex or drilling for the oil that keeps our entire civilization running. It’s a transparent bureaucratic sleight of hand, designed to ensure no inconvenient questions are asked about the true costs — not just financial, but societal — of these soft-on-crime policies. It’s yet another example of how the left’s obsession with perceived 'equity' inevitably leads to a heavier burden on the very taxpayers they claim to represent. President Trump’s Washington is pushing for America First; Santa Barbara’s local government is clearly pushing for Criminals First.