File this one under "we can totally trust these people to fix the state's economy": according to the
San Francisco Chronicle, while Jerry Brown, Democrats in the Legislature, and labor unions were screaming about the need for higher taxes last year, California failed to collect millions in revenues by
mismanaging state-owned property. In a sample of 35 leases, out of nearly 1,000 money-generating leases held by the state of California, Auditor Elaine Howle found that the State Lands Commission had lost out on over $8 million by failing to collect rent from private firms renting public lands, and by failing to correctly assess the value of its properties. This commission is responsible for managing federal lands that California acquired when it became a state. Interestingly, one member of the three-person Commission is the state's lieutenant governor. So, for those of you still trying to
figure out what Gavin Newsom does to earn his $130,000 salary, this apparently isn't it. Though most of the properties it oversees generate no rent, 85 are used by energy companies, and 900 are leased for private agricultural, commercial, or recreational use (e.g., boat docks). Outside the 35-lease sample, Howle found that 130 of the 985 leases were past due, including one on which a marine services company hasn't paid rent for 20 years. The commission's staff, of course, blame budget cuts, which are fast becoming California's last refuge of a scoundrel. For us, it's just another example of something Sacramento might want to look into before demanding more of our money.
While they're at it, how about selling off all that "greenspace" land state and local governments have been buying hand over fist for decades? One of the reasons San Jose is in such budget difficulties (not really, since they'd just spend it all and more, but bear with me) is it holds thousands of acres of incredibly valuable land off the market, generating neither tax revenue, as it would in private hands, nor rents. Indeed, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying and and taking land out of productive use. This not only kills the tax base, but it the scarcity it creates makes housing unaffordable, not exactly the sort of service a sane taxpayer would voluntarily pay for.
ReplyDeleteHmm. On the other hand, since California has apparently decided that it needs another housing boom to bring back "true prosperity", it may keep this land off the market deliberately.
ReplyDeleteHow does artificial scarcity create a boom, let alone make people prosperous?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I forgot to use the html tags for "sarcasm" in my comment. But given how often one reads about how California needs rising home prices to trigger a recovery, I can forgive you for assuming I was serious.
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