George Rebane
California’s collectivist calamites just keep rolling in. The latest in the works is the Great Solar Panel Sidestep – a new government mandated, contractor supported dance that will push low cost housing, now already out of reach, even further into the land of the bureaucratically impossible. As observed from outside our state’s borders, “California is often where bad ideas spring to life these days, and they’re worth highlighting lest they catch on in saner precincts. Consider the state Energy Commission’s decision this week to mandate solar panels on all new homes. Meanwhile, Democrats bemoan the lack of affordable housing. Hmmm, maybe there’s a connection?”
But his latest really takes the cake – you can run the numbers yourself, but here’s the back of the envelope version of the California Energy Commission's mandate for all new homes. Start with the “average cost of a rooftop solar panel system today is $18,840, which amortized at a 5.5% interest rate over 30 years is $107 a month.” Add to that an average of about $400 annually for government inspections, cleaning and maintaining the system, to get a total monthly cost of $140, or $1,680 annually. The advertised benefit is $80 monthly off the already outrageous cost of California electricity, making the net negative out-of-pocket $720 annually. An earlier smokescreen claimed that the initial cost would be recovered by such savings in 30 years. Now the cat is out of the bag – this bamboozle costs a lot out the gate, and keeps costing forever (even if it last 30 years). Given the low cost of energy in America, California’s solar energy only benefits leviathan and corporatism.
Meanwhile, California housing costs average between $50K-$75K per unit more than in the rest of the country, and a government specified ‘affordable housing’ unit costs an unaffordable $332K. Building low cost housing in California is prohibited by more laws and regulations than can be counted. This is “why hundreds of thousands of middle-class Californians are fleeing. In 2016 Arizona welcomed twice as many Californian refugees as Mexican immigrants. California’s labor force last year expanded by a mere 1% compared with 2.2% in Nevada and Arizona. Sharing a border with California is a gift that keeps on giving.” (more here)
rebanesruminations.com 
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