Local issues Opp Now will be watching in 2021
To kick off the New Year, we asked our editorial team and contributors their opinion of what issues local free marketeers should be watching over the next twelve months. Below is a compendium of their replies. And while of course new issues will arise, we think this list provides a smart checklist for concerned local citizens who care about free markets, free minds, and free speech. --Jeff and Christopher
* Google's Diridon project--will excessive city and community demands sink the job-creating development?
* Local minimum wage increases--what will the impact be on business, especially small, minority-owned businesses?
* Renter protections--will small landlords get run out of business, leaving the rental market to big conglomerate real estate concerns?
* Citywide residential upzoning--how much density will San Jose neighborhoods support?
* Will rezoning industrial land to residential further exacerbate San Jose's jobs/housing imbalance?
* What are the right ways to manage growing homeless encampments across the valley?
* How can cities speed up permit processing both for small and large projects?
* How should pandemic recovery funds be spent, and should downtown SJ get a privileged position?
* What criteria should inform the effort to redistrict council boundaries?
* With the SVO in disarray, where will business-friendly candidates get their support?
* Will local city governments' mission creep continue even as their budgets for core services tighten? Will they increasingly add responsibilities and budgets to activities like housing, race relations, and social equity--which are outside their charters?
* Will local knowledge workers keep telecommuting, and what will that mean for city planning policies?
* Will big tech companies continue to flee the area because of onerous taxation and regulation and housing costs?
* Will the Merc continue to be a vehicle of pass-through journalism for local progressive activists?
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