Californians are spoiled and selfish. They cry about their high taxes without considering the consequences. Two significant results of the no additional taxes is the condition of our schools and highways. California is rated 47th in the country in quality of schools and highways are mediocre at best. Consider the general property tax rate in New Jersey. Their rate is .03758 according to that state’s web site. The result is that taxes on a home with an assessed value of $150,000 are $5,637. There is no Proposition 13 control on increasing the appraised value. Thus my home has an increased value of just over 50% in the past 33 years. The actual market value of the home increased by 6 times before the 2008 crash.
You might argue that we have higher sales tax rates but here are the rates in various major cities throughout the country
Birmingham, AL 10.0%
Chicago, IL 9.75%
Seattle, WA 9.5%
Los Angeles 8.75%
San Francisco 8.5%
NYC 8.5%
Las Vegas, NV 8.1%
Philadelphia 8.0%
San Diego 7.75%
Boston 6.25%
A loaf of Bread cost 9 cents in 1938. My parents bought their first home in 1949 for $12,500. Today Zillow values the house at about $375,000. We simply can’t get our heads wrapped around the fact that everything costs more today. That includes the cost of government.
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