Forget the high-speed rail. In the newest episode of how Democrats try to take our money, Georgette Gomez takes the lead in pursuing a tax increase to pay for bus and rail upgrades.
Gomez, along with her cronies on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board, wants to introduce a new sales tax for transportation purposes, because clearly, we don’t pay enough already. According to Gomez, a sales tax increase would improve transportation by increasing speed, improving MTS frequency, and increasing the number of stops made available.
Democratic San Diego County Supervisor and MTS Board Member Nathan Fletcher, who loves sticking a finger in every pie, said that this tax raise would bring “fast, safe, reliable public transit” to the area.
Still not satisfied with more transit taxes (having conveniently forgotten about the hotly debated gas tax), Gomez now wants to double costs for building housing.
She wants to increase the fee developers can pay to avoid building low-income units, from the current $12 per square foot to $22. The only other alternative for developers, under these provisions, is to choose to reserve 10 percent of their project to people making under 50 percent of San Diego’s median income, as opposed to current regulation’s standard of 65 percent.
One has to concede that it’s a pretty proposal; it’s the kind of solution that would make a sweet addition to her platform of acting “For the People, Not the Powerful.” However, frankly, it’s incredibly short-sighted.
Far from making housing more affordable, the stricter regulations will create an exponential increase in rent and an exodus of developers from San Diego City for areas with more favorable regulations. Local housing developers and business leaders agree that this would only create a chilling effect on our economy.
Gomez is backed by the supposedly nonpartisan council’s Democrat supermajority. Since gaining a six-vote majority in the midterm election, the council has often taken unilateral action against Republicans and the Mayor on controversial issues: gun control, pension reform and supporting a state bill that would limit police use of force.
The relentless taxation and extravagant spending is absurd. We just had another gas tax dumped on us. We defeated the water tax idea. However, they keep coming! So keep a lookout for the new tax proposition on the 2020 ballot, because enough is enough.
