Poll: 70% say Bay Area quality of life has declined

When I read headlines like 7 in 10 residents say the region’s quality of life is getting worse, I think about how bad the roads have become (looking at you, El Camino), how poorly many government agencies are being run, how much traffic there is, how we are losing control of our local voting and zoning, and public safety.  School quality, water security, utility costs---the list is long.  Having spent years in market research, I know a poll can be tweaked in any number of ways from who gets polled to how the questions and multiple-choice answers are phrased to who does the analysis of the results.  The Merc reported on the latest public sentiment here.  It notes

According to the poll, 70% of registered voters said the Bay Area’s quality of life has worsened over the past five years, while just 13% said it has improved. Seventeen percent said it’s stayed the same.

A whopping 46% of respondents said they were likely to leave the Bay Area in the next few years, with two-thirds of those citing high housing costs as the main reason to consider a move. During the pandemic, people fleeing the region contributed to a 3% population drop, though that exodus has since slowed.  When asked to select ways the region might best be improved, respondents’ top choice at 39% was building more affordable housing.

Of course, that means 61% chose something other than to jam more people into the Bay Area.  See how the reporting can spin the story?  If the other choices had overlap to split the responses, 39% starts to look big.

Homeowners in the poll (note, that percentage is not revealed) also said the state’s home insurance meltdown is hitting their finances. Fifty-two percent said their home insurance premiums have increased significantly, 22% said they have avoided using their home insurance policy out of fear of cancellation or rising rates, 12% said they’ve had a difficult time finding an insurer to write them a policy and 8% said an insurer had canceled a policy.

Insurance has been slipping down a slippery slope for years with no real solution from the state. And many renters don't realize their rent is tied to the insurance on their apartment.  Then there is this bit of Sacramental hand-waving following on the heels of even more restrictions on drilling.  When you leave the state the gas prices are almost unreal---unreal low.

To prevent spikes in gas prices, state lawmakers are now considering a plan from Gov. Gavin Newsom to force oil refiners to keep minimum fuel reserves, though doing so likely wouldn’t lower overall prices at the pump.

The piece finishes off by describing some people who think Silicon Valley giants are "villains" who have "lost their moral compass".  I can't understand where that is coming from or what it has to do with the quality of life in the Bay Area.  At least the piece noted huge support for Prop. 36 to get the organized theft back under control and remove the locked plastic doors protecting shampoo and deodorant.  The big question remains how many people we should jam into the Peninsula?  The RHNA requirements are nonsense, but they are driving down the quality of life for long-time residents who look at things like this on the north end and wonder "why"?  That's the B'game police building in the front.

Comments

[Joe]

Two hours after I made the original post, the Merc sends out this:

San Mateo County calls on Newsom to declare state of emergency over insurance crisis

In a resolution passed this week, the Board of Supervisors urged the governor to take swift action in response to the increasing challenges families and businesses face in securing property insurance. They are also calling on the state’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, and state lawmakers to expedite the usual lengthy process and quickly implement temporary rules to stabilize the insurance market.

“Insurance options are shrinking while natural hazard risks from wildfire and storm surge grow, community-serving development projects in the wildland-urban interface stall and small businesses face closures,” Mueller said. “Our request, along with other counties (such as Placer County, San Bernadino and Shasta County), for a state of emergency is an urgent call to secure a fair, stable insurance market that keeps our communities safe and resilient in the face of an increasingly unpredictable climate future.”

“The Department is moving at the speed of transparency and good decisions — with openness and public participation — on a multitude of administrative actions and urgent regulations to enact the state’s largest insurance reform in 30 years since the passage of Prop. 103 in 1988,” it said.
-------------------
There are different definitions of "speed". If and when the FAIR program goes under, you know who will be left to pay their "fair share".

[Paloma Ave]

Which political party has been in power for the last 10+ years? Yet voters will continue to elect the same people and expect better results? Isn't that the definition of insanity?

[resident]

Newsom just cannot help himself. One distraction after another deflecting from the things he is supposed to be doing. How sad that more than half of everyone you meet every day is so checked out or on the dole.

[Long Live the Republic]

When people say the quality of life has declined, they’re really saying current policies/laws no longer are working.

It’s like a national poll if when asked if we are on the right track or wrong track?

And which party do you think is responsible for this?

[William]

>respondents’ top choice at 39% was building more affordable housing.
>"Of course, that means 61% chose something other than to jam more people into the Bay Area."
That's a very poor and statistically bogus take. That 61% was split among many other options. More housing was the top one, with 39%. So where should they put their effort? The top result, or do you think they should just pick one of the other lower-scoring options, just because in aggregate they scored higher than the top one?

[Joe]

You are unwittingly proving my point. The 61% could have been split between choices that are inter-related. For example, if two of the choices were "improve public safety" and "reduce retail theft" that could split an broader issue that could surpass 39%.

If you bothered to click through you would see some clear evidence of overlap:

When asked which issues pose a serious problem for the region, large majorities of respondents agreed that homelessness (97%), housing costs (96%), the cost of living (96%), health care costs (86%), crime (83%) and child care costs (82%) are significant challenges.

Most also agreed that over the past year, it’s become harder to afford food and groceries (79%), utilities (73%), transportation and gas (65%), taxes (64%) and housing (62%).

[Spurinna]

Bidenomics