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By Walter Contreras
My family and the Latino community have a special connection to the holidays. The holidays are a time to gather with loved ones, exchange gifts, celebrate the joys of spending time with family, and most importantly, help others in need. But many Californians – particularly Latinos –are facing increasing financial hardship, much of it brought on by impractical state and local policies that have ballooned the cost of living for families across the Golden State, turning the celebratory holiday season into a struggle to make ends meet.
Many are forced to go into debt to try and make the holiday’s a joyous time for their families. In fact, California’s rising credit card debt problem captures this struggle. Our state now leads the nation with an average of $13,416 in credit card debt per household and in some cities these numbers soar above $20,000.
This heavy reliance on credit for everyday expenses—spurred by the rising costs of housing, gas, and groceries—is a worrying sign of a broader l financial crisis for Californian households. Fueling this emergency are impractical state and local policies that increase the costs of goods and services without delivering meaningful results for Californians. It’s past time for lawmakers to reject well intentioned proposals that have burdened millions of Californians with significant unintended economic consequences and embrace a more practical agenda that benefits working people instead. We cannot afford to try new methods of environmental protection without understanding the financial impact that they will have on everyday people.
Many of these policies are so-called “environmentally elite” regulations that offer questionable environmental benefits while hurting the state and its residents economically. For example, California’s approach to energy policy highlights the cost-of-living challenges that many households face. Over the past 10 years, residential energy rates have increased by an average of 101%, pushing households to pay electricity rates that are nearly double the national average.
Meanwhile, California’s gas tax—the highest in the nation at $0.68 per gallon—adds another significant financial burden on families. New regulations by the California Air Resources Board could increase fuel costs by an additional $0.47 per gallon, further straining commuters’ budgets. Notably, this is a regressive challenge that impacts our poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest. Some estimates show that the bottom quintile of households by income spend as much as 16% of their budgets on fuel versus just 2% for the state’s highest earners.
Additionally, housing costs remain a deep-seated problem intertwined with state and local sustainability policies. Restrictive zoning laws and the delayed implementation of the California H.O.M.E. Act—a measure aimed at promoting the construction of duplexes and small housing units—have significantly hindered efforts to address the state’s longstanding housing shortage. State and local inaction have helped to drive up the average cost of a home in California to 2.5 times the median national price, while the cost of renting is 33% higher than the national average. As a result, families can barely afford their most basic necessity: a roof over their heads. In a state where families already pay top dollar for their property, gas, and food, it is unacceptable for policies to push costs any higher than they need to be.
It’s clear that the state’s approach to initiatives like sustainability policy is putting undue economic stress on our communities. That is why it is urgent that our elected leaders take a different approach – one that pursues more practical solutions that balances economic prosperity with environmental outcomes. Californians deserve no less.
To start, lawmakers should prioritize having deeper and more meaningful dialogues with communities to understand how current policies and proposals under consideration at the state and local level might benefit or unintentionally harm those communities. This measured approach is supported by community advocacy groups across the state and will help develop policies that do not disproportionately impact low- and middle-income households, all of which is key to developing lasting reforms that tackle the underlying issues driving our state’s affordability crisis.
The holidays should be a time of joy, not financial headaches. Yet, for many Californians, this season serves as a stark reminder of the state’s deep economic disparities and systemic challenges. This season, it is more important than ever for California’s leaders to commit to producing more thoughtful sustainability policies that offer residents the financial breathing room they need — not just in December, but year-round.
Walter Contreras heads the Sperantia Foundation, a Southern California-based organization focused on food and water access equality, social development, and environmental stewardship. Driven by community transformation, Walter is also a Faith Root Organizer for Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE). He is also a board member of Californians for Smarter Sustainability (CASS), which seeks to balance California’s economic prosperity and quality of life alongside environmental protection.
Written in partnership with Tom White
