Three new studies commissioned by Next 10 — a San Francisco think tank that focuses on quality of life in California — make a powerful case that extreme housing costs threaten to make much of the state like Malibu and Santa Barbara, where only the wealthy can afford to live and most of the workers who support them have long commutes from cheaper inland areas. The analyses — prepared by Beacon Economics, a respected Los Angeles-based consultant — make a powerful case that the focus of state anti-poverty efforts should be bringing down housing costs.

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