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True, but the elderly will leave through attrition, forcing them to leave through high taxes that make their homes affordable doesn't seem like a good way to en

True, but the elderly will leave through attrition, forcing them to leave through high taxes that make their homes affordable doesn't seem like a good way to ensure neighborhood turnover. I lived in a rent controlled apartment in San Francisco, and about 30% of my neighbors were over the age of 60 including an 80 year old neighbor who'd been there for 40 years and had great stories to tell. Then I lived in a 20 year old building with no rent control, and almost all of my neighbors were age 30 or below working in the tech field (few lived there for more than a couple years) -- with no elderly people that I was aware of. (we had a few months of of false fire alarm activations, so it was pretty easy to see all of the residents)

closeparen 8y ago
Grandma's low property tax bill is not the problem per se, it is the punitively high property tax bill we charge more recently sold properties to make up for it. This is popular because it punishes techie migrants, but it also punishes downsizing late and life and new household formation early in life. If we don't need the extra revenue from rising property values, we should cut property tax rates accordingly. City residents getting the same public services for a smaller percentage of their wealth would be an immensely positive impact of tech's prosperity. If we do need it (and I suspect we do, because higher prices mean government facilities and staff are more expensive), we should collect it fairly across the board. Maybe "fair" means flat, maybe it means progressive, maybe it even means "tenure in city" or "tenure in neighborhood," but "tenure in current address" is crazy. At least use a mechanism with some thought put into its incentives and possible unintended consequences.