California’s Folly — Prop. 13

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



California’s Folly — Prop. 13

Posted on Jan 26, 2010
By Arthur Blaustein


In November 1978, Harper’s magazine published my article on the passage of Proposition 13 with the headline, “Californians Rush for Fool’s Gold.”

At that time, Prop. 13 was getting lots of national media attention. The pundits of type and tube were hyping California as the pacesetter for a post-Watergate America. At the same time, the cultural gurus were proclaiming it to be a proving ground for paradise.

Even George F. Will, the usually cautious Washington Post columnist, declared: “The East Coast, landfall for immigrants of all sorts, once was the laboratory of American politics. Today California, land’s end for migrants of all sorts, is the laboratory.”

Birthplace of the “less is more” philosophy, the Golden State had become both the cultural fad-fashioner of the nation and a dominant political force. What did this imply for the nation politically? Many observers referred to California’s trendiness as a hopeful sign of America’s greening. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/californias_folly_prop_13_20100126/

[MineralMan]

1. There aren't that many homes in California that are still

paying taxes at the Prop. 13 rate. Just some that have old folks living in them. I used to own a house that fell under that category. I bought it in 1974. But, I sold it a few years ago and moved out of California. The new owner paid taxes based on the sales price of the house.

Most houses have changed hands at least once since then.

[change_notfinetuning]

2. Yeah, but what about businesses. Prop. 13 applied to them as well, as I

recall. I was living in California at the time, and it wasn't long before people's needs, like schools and libraries were being shorted due to budget constraints. Plus, how many years did that result in lower taxes collected from people who could well afford to pay their fair share. The cumulative amount added up and, while that wasn't the only cause, it combined with other factors to bring a very prosperous state to a bankrupt disaster. Not that different than the recent history of the United States. When people, and especially businesses, aren't paying their fair share . . . well, look around. That's what we end up with.

[MineralMan]

4. I'm not defending Prop. 13. It benefited some and harmed others.

Most laws do that, I guess.

[change_notfinetuning]

7. Oh gee. Let me guess who it helped. For starters, it was a huge gift to the

Apartment Owners of Los Angeles County, whose executive director was Howard Jarvis. Harm? The entire state of California is reeling from its effects. This was nothing but a scam that had a ready pool of support from the homeowners who were being squeezed by property taxes in a speculative housing bubble, enhanced by wealthy foreigners flocking to buy property in California. The real reason for the proposition was to benefit corporate interests, but as home ownership was double rental population, it was Santa Claus to many Californians at the time.

As I recall, Howard Jarvis was such a hero, that when he was arrested for drunk driving and was so drunk that he could not recite the alphabet, the ABC's, the jury of homeowners ultimately acquitted him anyway.

"It benefited some and harmed others", indeed. So do wars, so let's start a few dumb wars. Oh, we did that already.

[Cleita]

5. Property taxes are still at 1% as compared to 4% to 5%

in other states. We have some of the priciest real estate in the country, yet the multi-millionaires and billionaires are not paying what they should in property taxes.

[Cleita]

6. I found this pdf that explains the whole property tax thingamajig in California

including the proposition 13 impact. I don't have time to read it right now cause I have to go to work, but maybe other people here might be interested in it.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/pub29.pdf

[Cleita]

3. I remember the aftermath well. In a few years time we would be stepping

over homeless in the streets in a state that never had that problem since WWII. The university and state college systems had large layoffs throwing both workers and academics out on the street as well. The insidious part was that it was sold as a way to keep grandma and grandpa in their house. There was a problem of old people on fixed incomes getting property taxes they couldn't afford because of rising property values and many a good liberal I know voted for this garbage legislation because of this. In hindsight, legislation could have been introduced to freeze property taxes for single home owning retirees without giving away the whole farm. This tax gift to rich people started a real estate boom as speculators poured into our metropolitan districts snapping up properties and reselling them for two to three times what they purchased them for. It also taught many Democrats a lesson and that is to never vote for legislation introduced by a Republican. They can't be trusted. We need to get rid of prop 13, especially now that our state is in budget crisis. We can fix the property tax for retirees problem with separate legislation.