[quote=bearishgurl]Call this ambivalence if you wish, permabear, but I think I’ve said it before a few times, you pay for exactly what you get in this life.[/quote]

But you do realize that Prop 13 is part of what causes this, right? If people had their taxes increased along with inflation, the state would have more money to bury utilities and fund schools. On top of that, citizens would have some incentive to make a stink saying “hey we want fancy utilities like they get!” rather than the current “oh, well, you get what you pay for, and I’m only paying $527/year”.