[quote=FlyerInHi]Prop 13 is not a subsidy to real estate investors. Call it an unfair tax advantage if you want but a subsidy it is not.
Good luck trying to get parts of it repealed. Meanwhile the budget problems are not getting solved.
One of the reasons we have decentralized government is so that each municipality manages its own affairs. Now, if you want a statewide solution, then local governments need to give up control.
This is not just California specific. Pensions around the country are in trouble. Blaming Prop 13 is just intellectually dishonest.[/quote]
Okay, you are clearly showing how clueless you are about govt finances and economics. This makes it difficult to debate with you. Since you don’t even understand the problems (where revenues come from and how they are allocated in the short/medium/long term, and how changes in laws affect both revenues and expenditures, etc.), lack knowledge about the history of state and municipal finances, lack knowledge about how contracts work, or who’s paid with what money, or how priority is determined in BK, why are you even trying to debate this topic? Opinions are fine, but they don’t trump facts.
Prop 13 protection for investors is a SUBSIDY. We are subsidizing their profits to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars, and we get nothing back in return. There is no question about that. Additionally, property tax receipts represent the largest portion of most municipal budgets, followed by sales taxes. If you don’t even understand these basic concepts, please stop embarrassing yourself by continuing to make these stupid arguments of yours.
And I am not blaming Prop 13 for the state’s (or the country’s, or the world’s) economic woes. That was caused by the financial sector and greedy capitalists and speculators, and it’s still being allowed to continue. Again, it has NOTHING AT ALL to do with unions or public sector workers. They’ve just been made the scapegoat, and too many fools are buying the story, allowing the real criminals to sail away in their yachts, unscathed.
