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California Democrats preach ‘affordability’ at convention — after raising costs

It was fitting that the California Democratic Party gathered in San Francisco to talk about “affordability.” They created the problem.

The Democratic Party governing model that has shaped this state for decades — high taxes, heavy regulation, climate mandates layered on labor mandates, and public employee unions at the center — is the key culprit in high costs. 

And yet affordability was the word of the weekend.

Speaker after speaker promised to make housing cheaper and lower costs for working families, in a hall filled with activists who helped build the policy structure that made California one of the most expensive places in America to live, build, hire, or start a business. 

For a generation, Democrats have controlled the legislature, every statewide office, and the governor’s mansion. During that time, California’s top income tax rate became the highest in the country, gas taxes climbed near the top, regulations multiplied, and the state budget swelled past $300 billion. 

Yet the solution offered was not course correction but more “investment,” more revenue, and more state direction of housing and health care.

Several candidates again embraced single-payer ideas, and nearly all pledged deeper intervention in the housing market. 

Billionaire Tom Steyer called for taxing people like himself even more, and delegates applauded. 

What you did not hear was a serious discussion of whether decades of policy layering contributed to the cost structure now labeled a crisis.

And the governor whose policies shaped this landscape did not even show up. Gavin Newsom did not attend the convention or address delegates.

Instead, he was on a national book tour —........

© New York Post