Re: [Pen-l] California Fiscal Bait and Switch

[Jim Devine <jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Perelman wrote:
>Prior to the ratification of Proposition 13 in 1978, Gov. Jerry Brown was  building up a rainy day fund to prepare for fiscal emergencies. Republicans argued that the state had no right to hoard "the people's money." A number of other factors are used to explain why Californians ratified Proposition 13.  The most common culprit was the Serrano decision that was supposed to break the link between local property taxes and school funding, which was intended to reduce inequalities between school districts. Many people resented having to pay property taxes to support poor or minority kids.
Also, there were some scandals with County tax assessors, but my
recollection was that the rainy day fund rhetoric was the loudest.<

in addition, rising house prices and assiduous property assessors
(trying to raise revenue for the financially-strapped state and local
governments) led to soaring tax assessments, which squeezed a lot of
home-owners whose incomes were not rising as quickly (e.g.,
pensioners). This helped form a largely suburban base for the "tax
revolt," which was exploited to the max by demagogues such as Howard
Jarvis.

-- 
Jim Devine / "If heart-aches were commercials, we'd all be on TV." -- John Prine
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