One reason for the high cost of housing in California is overregulation

Why?

When we decided to go solar we opted to build a 13 kW array mounted on a custom designed pergola built in the backyard. We didn’t want it on the roof and we needed more shade.

The project was going to cost in the range of $50K to $75K. I did all the engineering and construction. By the time we were done the project cost us $125K.

I’ll spare you the details on the six months of agony the regulators put us through. They turned a super simple project into the worst nightmare I have ever experienced.

They have all the power. There is nothing —zero— you can do about it. And you better hold a smile any time you deal with them or they will deliver vindictive rulings from which you might never escape. CA needs a reset button. This is a mess. And it will get worse before it gets better.

After the most expensive US cities, we find the cost-benefit for new engineering sites points invariably to other countries.

The federal government gave us the interstate highway system and FHA subsidies that enabled sprawl, it owes it to us all to clean up the abomination of suburbia. The most important thing would be a similar scale investment in urban rail, but it should probably be contingent on upzoning around stations, yes.