Last year, the Legislature approved $200 million in government grants and loans to build housing infrastructure. Governor Kristi Noem has let that money sit stagnant in a pointless feud with her own Republican Senate leadership. In an effort to pry that housing money loose for all their eager socialist-contractor constituents, the Senate rushed Senate Bill 41 through committee and floor debate last week.
KOTA has the temerity to label Senator Casey Crabtree’s (R-8/Madison) bill as having the potential to bring South Dakota’s affordable housing crisis to an end. The bill will certainly have some impact, though not as much as it would have if Governor Noem hadn’t spiked implementation of the plan last year:
“The importance of this issue has only grown over the past year with heightened inflation and rising interest rates,” Crabtree said. “This gives us an opportunity to provide a long lasting tool for our state to address the workforce shortage issues” [Symmone Gauer, “Workforce Housing Sees Win in Senate amid Debate About Government Overreach and Infrastructure,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader via Yahoo, 2023.01.13].
SB 41 was one of the first three bills to rocket out of the Senate Friday. The House, meanwhile, sat on its hands listening to speeches all week and moved no legislation forward. House State Affairs will hear SB 41 on Wednesday.
But how are white kids whose parents co-signed a house mortgage supposed to feel superior if even poor and minority people are allowed to join the vertical crowd of “new homeowners”?
Every chance they see these “libbies” are attacking “White Privilege”.
That ain’t the South Dakota it’s supposed to be!!
You know, since SD is dominated by the Republicans the actual division is showing. There are many, many Rinos since they can’t be a “Libbie Democrat”. What person in their right mind would be a maga?
Mark is 100% on the “Mark”.
Here in Cory’s liberal land criticism of the MAGA’s and denunciations of Republicans are commonplace.
Even mere Conservatives get keel hauled on a daily basis.
But we who escaped the great white North know in our hearts and memories that the majority of SD folks are center based, kind and giving by nature and only spew MAGA rhetoric when it’s a week before the election.
Visiting this blog can make you wrongly believe that more than 10% of SD voters give a damn about politics, anyway.
My issue with this finally happening is; 1) a GOP goof-up by an incompetent governor to start with , 2) it is another form of loved “GOP” socialism directed to enrich contractor friends of current GOP powers, 4) in 50 years of similar reign by same GOP powers, these “work-force” housing areas will be bull-dozed under a TIP inspired to “improve” a community.
In GOP MAGA land, if you don’t want to offend your business cohorts by paying a higher wage and luring away their help, you join the chorus of needed government support to benefit those who work for you – to stay and work for you!
Indeed, Jake, how can a conservative state not be able to translate its conservative principles into a healthy housing market that meets the needs of all of its workers without socialist subsidies? How can the market fail in the place where the free market is most worshipped?
Senate Bill 41 isn’t exhibiting much the real division in South Dakota: It passed the Senate 29–2, with the only nays coming from angry-dad advocate Tom Pischke and sluggard extraordinaire Arch Beal.