[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=CA renter]
Again, “taxpayers” (and every public employee is a taxpayer who is paying at least as much as everyone else, especially since they are W-2), DO NOT pay the pension benefits to these retirees. The benefits are paid entirely from the retirement funds, and those funds are funded primarily by investment returns, employee contributions, and employer contributions. The “taxpayer” costs come from the employer contribution side for current employees, but those costs can be offset by other reductions.
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[quote=CA renter]
#1 way to fix the pension problems in California? Repeal Prop 13 for every property except for a single primary residence. [/quote]
Explain why it’s necessary to raise billions in new taxes if taxpayers are only responsible for public employers current contributions.[/quote]
And I’m not talking about adding *new* taxes. I’m talking about eliminating the subsidies for landlords, large tract owners, commercial/industrial property owners, etc. that were passed with Prop 13 because THOSE TAXPAYER-FUNDED SUBSIDIES — BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS — SHOULD NEVER HAVE EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Prop 13 broke California, but at least I can understand the argument about keeping property taxes stable for a **single, primary residence** so that people won’t be taxed out of their homes during the housing bubbles that are all too common in this state. Subsidies for businesses and wealthy landowners, at the expense of working people? Hell no!
And we are not talking about “bailing out” pension systems. ALL government spending competes with other spending. Going back to market rate property taxes for all of this valuable RE would bring in money to pay for ALL government services and debts. You could just as easily say that we are going back to pre-Prop 13 levels on these properties to bail out bondholders, or developers, or projects that are in their initial phases. We need to eliminate these ridiculous subsidies for wealthy landowners and landlords. There is no excuse for it if we are trying to short those who’ve actually EARNED their money in order to maintain these subsidies for the wealthy.
