State of California is broke

[BTExpress]

of course i know -- i bought. but you misconstrue the point. i am paying 2012 (or whenever i bought) post-prop 13 dollars. my neighbor may very well be paying in pre-prop 13 1975 dollars. he can't buy anything else with 1975 dollars -- he'd have to pay 2012 prices. so why isn't he paying 2012 prices for city/state services?

put another way: he's paying $1,000 a year or less for a $3 million property. for that price he shouldn't be allowed out of his driveway and into the street. anyone who's bought SINCE 1978 is carrying the load for anyone who bought prior -- kind of analogous to poindexter's outraged tax payers of today footing the bill for the outrageous benefits and salaries for past and present generations of teachers, firefighters and cops. Yet that demand on taxpayers is wrong, while the inequities of prop 13 are shrugged off with "we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem."

he can't buy anything else with 1975 dollars -- he'd have to pay 2012 prices. so why isn't he paying 2012 prices for city/state services?

The same reason someone who bought Apple stock in 1997 doubles their money if the stock goes up $17, whereas somebody who bought last week only receives a 2.6% return on their investment. Buying low and staying in is ALWAYS advantageous. It will be advantageous to you in 20 years if you stay in your house and it goes up in value 10x. Will YOU volunteer to pay 10x more in taxes if that happens? Of course not.

This person's "$3 million" property is only worth that because someone is willing to pay that much. The property ITSELF is no better than the day they bought it, and the services they are receiving likely are no better, either. Why should an inflated real estate market tax someone out of their home? If real estate goes up 1000%, it does NOT mean that your services will be 1000% better. So why should your tax bill go up 1000%?

So yes, it is a spending problem. If the city could pay its bills 30 years ago when a property was valued at $100,000, and it CANNOT pay its bills despite real-estate values that are much higher than regular inflation, then it's spending too much. The long-time owners will foot the bill for 3% spending increases every year . . . but YOU have to foot the bill for spending that goes beyond 3%. So cut the damn spending.

Or better yet, quit tying taxes to home values. They have NOTHING to do with each other. The cost to build a road does not increase 100% just because the value of the home sitting on that road does.

 

[LongTimeListener]

It's also not true to say that person's property taxes haven't gone up. The rate set by the state may stay the same, but local parcels and school assessments and such add up too. I bought my house about 15 years ago and paid about $3,600 a year in taxes. Now that number is close to $5,000.

 

[poindexter]

What's another 3.5 cents a gallon in taxes? We'll find out on Jul 1.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/28/gas-tax-california-rise-july/

 

[dog eat dog world]

Take a bow, Pelosi....

Tis the virus that's coming to the rest of this country.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Pelosi? The federal government now decides state taxes?

 

[Captain Obvious]

Pelosi? The federal government now decides state taxes?

Meds haven't kicked in yet.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I think dog is reeling from the fact that 80 prominent California Republicans just endorsed Teh Gay.

 

[dog eat dog world]

I think dog is reeling from the fact that 80 prominent California Republicans just endorsed Teh Gay.

Against, of course, the people who put them in office that voted otherwise on Prop 8.

 

[Football_Bat]

What's another 3.5 cents a gallon in taxes? We'll find out on Jul 1.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/28/gas-tax-california-rise-july/

I'd rather see that than a reliance on the construction of toll roads, or worse, a mileage tax assessed upon inspection, which fortunately has died a death in my state's legislature.

 

[dog eat dog world]

How about an additional 20 percent tax on all Hollywood millionaires? They're the ones who prefer Democrat control. Help their brothers and sisters out.

 

[Armchair_QB]

How about an additional 20 percent tax on all Hollywood millionaires? They're the ones who prefer Democrat control. Help their brothers and sisters out.

Or a 20 percent tax on electric vehicles since the owners aren't paying their fair share by using gasoline.

 

[poindexter]

I'd rather see that than a reliance on the construction of toll roads, or worse, a mileage tax assessed upon inspection, which fortunately has died a death in my state's legislature.

I think that one is just a matter of time. It may be decades from now, but it will happen.