Marin County: Garden of Delusion

By Norman Rogers

Marin County, California is connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge. The natural gifts of geography and weather are special. Mountains provide expansive views, often decorated by redwood trees, creeping fog, sailboats, bridges, and islands. The Pacific Ocean hardly varies from 55 degrees -- too cold for swimming, but perfect for natural air conditioning. The population of Marin is overwhelmingly white, Democrat, and financially well-off. In 2008, nearly 80% of the vote went to Obama. The main minority consists of Spanish-speaking immigrants who prosper by providing services such as gardening, house-cleaning, and child care. The going rate for babysitting is close to $20 an hour. Although official statistics say that the Hispanics have low incomes, those statistics are based on the assumption that landscapers and babysitters, often in the country illegally, carefully report their earnings to the government. Marin real estate fell by about 30% in the housing crash. That means that an old and small house, not too far to commute to San Francisco, can now.... (Read Full Article)