Realtors’ bond far less a burden for homeowners

The UCSC student’s Guest Commentary (April 2) about the competing housing bond initiatives stated several factual inaccuracies. A transfer tax already exists when you sell your home, it’s $1.10 per $1,000 of sale price. Both of these initiatives propose an increase in that existing amount. he Realtors’ bond exempts all seniors (55 and older), the other permits only “low income” seniors to escape the tax. The Realtors’ bond allows funding to include repairing West Cliff damage; the other does not. The Realtors’ bond ends in 10 years; the other ends in 20 years.

I am not a Realtor, but as a homeowner, these taxes are significant and the Realtors’ bond would be much less of a burden. Apparently the student doesn’t know that Proposition 13 requires a two-thirds vote on any new taxes. The city bond skirts this issue by handing it off to a community group passing as a grassroots organization, which is a deceptive attempt to avoid this state law.

I appreciate having a choice. The Realtors are actually helping the community by providing homeowners a less costly alternative.

— Steve McCarty, Santa Cruz

Pay for train with revenue from cannabis lounges

I’m not sure how much tax revenue will be generated by the train and I’m not sure how much tax revenue will be generated by people consuming marijuana at lounges and local pot farms.

If one person dies because a marijuana consumer drives away from such a place and kills him or herself or another, the tax revenue isn’t worth it.

So part of the marijuana tax revenue should have to pay for the train, which would be free for stoned people with validated ride tickets from the lounges, which should be within 50 feet of a train stop. The stop shelters might generate a little revenue renting the walls for ads possibly from weed stores, Realtors and lawyers.

But that wouldn’t cover the upkeep for the stops. The train needs a money-making plan.

Please drive safely.

— Bill Stoesen, Santa Cruz

Just waiting for new cost projections on rail-trail

Almost 10 years in and can’t wait for the next cost projection increase on building a rail and a trail. On a state level the California bullet train to “nowhere” is now an overused attack line against liberal democracies all around the world.

Locally, are we really going to spend $4 billion over the next 25 years to build a slow-moving train here in Santa Cruz County? I’m extremely skeptical rail passenger service would be completed before 2050. The obstacles are significant: Aging trestles, opposition from homeowners, concern from small business owners and a slew of lawsuits.

This stuff is hard and at some point politicians have to stop hiding behind process. Good governance is about delivering results to your people. A bike and pedestrian trail that connects us is real progress. It can be done at a fraction of the cost and can be completed much sooner. Why don’t we just try to do that?

— Dave Bamford, Aptos

Trump’s tariff’s could lead to recession or worse

Between the time I write this letter and the time it gets published there’s no telling what Trump’s tariffs will be — 10% on China or 20%? 15% on aluminum and 25% on wine or vice versa?

It’s this uncertainty that’s going to wreck us. Trump claims his tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the United States. But no business is going to invest in building a factory that will open in three years based on a tariff that could change in three days. This pointless jumping around brings us the pain of tariffs with none of the benefits.

Worse, the pain spreads beyond the specific industries named in the tariffs. It isn’t just automakers or steel makers that aren’t sure whether to invest in the future; all businesses need to be cautious given this level of uncertainty.

That’s how recessions, and depressions, start. Businesses can’t predict what’s happening with the economy and so they get cautious. They cut back on their spending and by the very act of cutting back they make a bad economy even worse.

— John Fay, Santa Cruz

Ominous warning signs about the 2028 election

There will be no presidential election in 2028. An extreme emergency will be declared and elections will be indefinitely postponed. This should be obvious to anyone paying attention to the way Trump and Musk are behaving.

— Joel Isaacson, Santa Cruz