People in California are stuck in a no-win situation. They either decline jobs that are too far from where they can afford to live, or they clog the roads and drive too far to get to work. In the meantime, California officials have become too lax in figuring out how they can solve home affordability and work-access issues. The Los Angeles Times explains:
The perverse result is that too many local officials have been shielded from responsibility. In Los Angeles, for example, officials no longer have to wrestle with whether to adopt citywide inclusionary zoning. And that's a shame, because whether or not the policy is the best one to increase the stock of affordable housing, the question is a local one that should be answered by local officials.