93106's Letters

Editor,

Frank Frost has put us in our place (Points of View, March 17, 2003) and voiced an underlying sentiment of the wealthy Southern California elite. This land is their land, not ours. If we cannot afford to live here, we can leave. It is as simple as that.

No new development. No new neighbors. They can afford the cost. The vistas from their homes in the foothills will remain unimpeded; no new schools will drive up their property taxes; and, best of all, the land will be reserved for America's gentry. Just so long as there is enough "affordable" housing for their gardeners, nannies, and housekeepers–for the waiters, busboys, and line chefs–there is no need for more outsiders.

I think back to Professor Frost's retirement from UCSB. Our department needed a replacement to teach ancient Greek history, and we found one. I hope we can keep him. I hope UCSB is able to keep many of the professors it hires, because they cannot afford to live in this community. Not everyone is that wealthy. Perhaps these are the colleagues that we should suggest go live happily in Orcutt. Or, if they don't like the commute, maybe we should tell them to move to Kansas where land is cheap.

Professor Frost, the next time you suggest we tell our complaining coworker the way out of town, remember that you are banishing Santa Barbara's teachers, nurses, and other public servants, not "animals." You asked in your article if your opinions were selfish. Well, yes, they are, professor.

(The following is an open letter to professor emeritus Frank Frost regarding his opinions on local housing.)

Thank you for pointing out the open roads out of town. Shall we assume that if you take one of those roads, you will put your home on the market at the price at which you bought it? Will you be selling to any interested buyer or only to junior faculty in history?

Please do keep us posted on its availability, unless you intend for your department to die out for lack of new faculty.

Editor,

My colleague Frank Frost's analogies of too many people in a lifeboat, or too many animals around a watering hole, are way off base. Santa Barbara's boat is really a cruise ship with plenty of staterooms for passengers, but too few beds for the staff required to operate the ship.

If he were still a county supervisor he would know we must eliminate the jobs/housing inequality by stopping job growth, or even reducing the number of jobs. Possibly, we should subsidize more affordable housing outside this region, but we must be careful not to cause our service people to desert us.

I suspect that retired drones, like myself, use more human services, epspecially health services, than other locals, making us double contributors to housing shortages.