Recently, my friends and I canceled plans to get dinner for the fourth time this month. With an ordinary dinner and drink in the Bay Area starting out at least $30 a person, a simple night out feels like a luxury.
As my friends and I go from days to weeks without hanging out, our group chats dry up, and my closest support circle moves further away. As friendships in California become burdened by cost, Gavin Newsom needs to create a “friendship” tax credit because Californians lack affordable social infrastructure — perpetuating the loneliness epidemic.
California’s social infrastructure is crumbling, and young people are paying the price. Affordable and accessible public “third places” are becoming nonexistent. Cities like my closest urban center of Los Angeles announced that its public parks would be closed two days per week because of budget costs and San Diego is closing dozens of bathrooms in beaches and parks. Public spaces are the scaffolding for everyday friendship formation and maintenance, and minor changes in fees and hours decrease repeated contact necessary for enduring friendships…