3 ms·
Hurts grandmas/grandpas who lucked into houses with high property values, who could be rich but don't want to be because they have personal reasons not to move.
by rspeer 9y ago
Hurts grandmas/grandpas who lucked into houses with high property values, who could be rich but don't want to be because they have personal reasons not to move.
These are incidentally severely overrepresented among voters, and their votes are amplified by how easy it is to paint someone following the economic wisdom as an evil grandma-displacer.
It's much more politically convenient to displace young minorities. Nobody will really speak up for them, and they won't vote against you because you displaced them and they live somewhere else now!
- nradov 9y agoOne solution would be to defer tax payments and put a lien on the property instead, payable upon change of ownership. That way no one will be forced out of their home, and the government can even use those liens as collateral if they need to borrow funds for current operations.
- ensignavenger 9y agoAllow those liens to compound over enough time, and eventually they become more than the value of the home. Also, many of these voters want to leave their property to their children, not the government.
- nradov 9y agoMany of those voters also don't want to pay higher sales, value-added, or income taxes. The money to operate governments has to come from somewhere.
- ensignavenger 9y agoSure, but just how much government we need is always a political question, subject to much debate. The point is, the solution isn't as simple as raising taxes.