Gov. Cox has once again given a speech regarding housing costs. “I don’t want my grandkids to live in Indiana.”
And once again our state government is ignoring the real problem: We have exceeded the resources available to sustain our population. There simply isn’t enough land to build affordable housing on. We continue to build excessively expensive houses on poor land because all of the good land has already been built on.
In addition, we must also have land to build roads to and from these houses, so that people can move around to jobs, shopping, etc. Our constant traffic problems clearly show we don’t have the roads to support this movement.
We also don’t have enough water to support this population.
Gov. Cox is from a farming family. He is correct: Agriculture is not the reason for our water shortages. Agriculture is using less water now than ever. The reason we are running out of water and the Great Salt Lake is drying up is not climate change and drought. We have always had droughts. The reason for the shortages is that millions of people need to drink, bathe and cook. That is where the water is going.
Speeches are made, policies are established, and the Legislature votes on things, thinking they are addressing the problem. One cannot vote land and water into existence. I don’t know how much population Utah can actually sustain. But I am quite sure we have long since exceeded that population.
Richard Evans, Midvale
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible