I contend that Prop. 13 SAVED California!
What lost California in the Initiative process was the Imitative that set the budget % for schools (read “Union Teachers”) and the three Initiatives from the Governator proposed in (as I recall) 2006, which were defeated by union money.
There has NEVER been a state income problem. There has been a documented spending problem, spending far beyond the combined Cost of Living Plus immigration numbers.
That, plus setting pensions and other items into contractual stones during bubbles (Dot Com and real estate) that cannot be rationally be funded during recessions and the proximate cause of the state problem.
However much income the State has is how much it has. If the politicians insist on spending more than one of the top five tax states in the nation (#1 in many categories) it is NOT the fault of taxes!
Darn few homes are covered by Prop 13 as to the homes still owned by the original owners – what KEEPS property taxes down is the 2%/year limit on property taxes for EVERYONE who owns a home.
Is it your contention that the 2%/year property tax limit on property tax increases for ALL homeowners should be repealed? Make THAT proposal and you had better guard your anonymity with GREAT care!
Regardless of the mistakes of the people in Initiatives, and I have noted them, the Legislature KNOWS with some certainty how much they have to work with, and in every year they have overspent that amount.
It was NOT an Initiative process by which the Legislature permitted city, county and state to increase the 2.5%/year retirement rate to 3% — it was pure legislative action, and although it was permitted and not required, union pressure promptly made 3% the norm (In San Diego County, of 17 municipalities excluding the City of San Diego, only Poway held to 2.5%.)
Surely, there is sufficient blame to go around and the rice bowls being broken are adding to a national unemployment problem. The unions have recently won their lawsuit precluding forced days off – which has caused pay cuts, but pay cuts will not work because they do not end huge pension costs. Only layoffs do that, and they need to begin immediately.
The bad news is that education must be cut. The good news is that it immediately hits leftist professors and idealistic young students who may discover that limits do actually exist.
The best news to everyone is that funds available to government are not unlimited. The Legislature did not believe that and in the budget deal last year the Republicans agreed sub-rosa to release a few Republicans in safe districts to vote the largest tax increase in ANY state’s history! (Anthony Adams, one of those, has recently announced he will not run again – because the Democrat-Republican private deal came to light.)
But it was NOT just the safe Republicans who were in on the deal. EVERY Republican (except I think 5 who were kept in the dark) signed off on it!
It is a den of thieves!
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