Dadtodabone wrote:JALLEN wrote:You guys are making me nervous. I am moving for other reasons but was hoping to get away from this socialist hellhole mentality of the whacko Democrats in the Legislature here who have a supermajority this time.
I surely do not want to get back home just in time to see them do to Texas what they have done to California which, when I arrived, had a Governor named Reagan, one of the more prominent state supreme courts in the country, a growing thriving economy and one of the best educational systems in the country.
June 6, 1978 was a beautiful day in the North County area of SD county. I was standing in one of the official polling locations, my cousin's garage in RB, and watched while folks voted away the future. I still believe that there were other options that could have moderated inequities in taxes, as was done here in Texas, (homestead and seniors exemptions, etc.) Like many things we try, unintended consequences from that vote reverberate to this day.
If you are referring to Prop 13, I disagree thoroughly. Something had to be done to stop, or slow down the spending mania, and that was a start. As it was, my former in-laws, who had bought their home in 1951, and had paid it off in 1976, were paying more in property taxes than they paid for their house! Many were facing losing their homes because of property taxes which were then based on current market value.
The home I bought in 1973 for $21,500 sold in 1978 for $56,500! A few years ago, that same property sold for slightly over $400,000! This was due in large part to the influence of the baby-boomers of which I was the leading edge, and the artificial constriction on supply with "slow growth' policies enacted in the early to mid-70s. Putting limits on property taxes was also thought to cap what was seen as out of control spending, but they hadn't seen nuthin' yet. It's all about feathers from the goose and squawking.
Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed that appeared in the papers, many years ago back when I still read them, decrying Prop 13, as his house in Laguna Beach was assessed at 1978 value, while the house across the street was several times that, due to a recent sale. I wrote in that all Buffett had to do to raise his taxes was sell his house and buy another one. I don't believe he has taken that suggestion yet.
Even with Prop. 13 in place, California has the highest tax burden of any state, excepting possibly New York, and it is because the socialists in the Legislature keep spending, illegals keep getting free services, and hobos from around the world love the terrific weather, as long as they aren't paying for it. They raised fees to park at the beach, fees for approving subdivisions, and everything else that government does but doesn't need to do.
I have been predicting for some time that within two generations, everyone in California will be either working for, or standing in line at, the welfare office or DMV. My forecasting is, like Yogi Berra, none too good especially when it pertains to the future, but I have seen no reason to amend my views to date.