Proposition 13 was advertised to protect the poor and elderly citizens, but its design does not target them. In particular, it benefits those who don’t need hel

Proposition 13 was advertised to protect the poor and elderly citizens, but its design does not target them. In particular, it benefits those who don’t need help: commercial landlords, rental landlords, and (after Proposition 58/193) feudal estates. And it harms those poor and elderly who are unable to purchase a house. In short, it is an entitlement that benefits homeowners, at the expense of renters and home-seekers. It takes some tautological reasoning to defend its poor design if the goal is protecting lower income households; see the Stevens dissent to Nordlinger v Hahn https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/90-1912.ZD.html https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/90-1912.ZD.html