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There are a lot of reasons that property taxes have risen in California. Giving people free money that expires when they sell their home is one. Making building

There are a lot of reasons that property taxes have risen in California. Giving people free money that expires when they sell their home is one. Making building more housing mostly illegal is another. Economic prosperity among some people in the urban regions of California is certainly one too. Property tax - especially on the land value rather than the improvements - is good. It can provide a feedback of the cost of what someone is using. Funding schools based on tiny districts is of course a poor policy, and local taxes -- be it property taxes, income taxes, corporate taxes, sales tax, fees, whatever -- shouldn't be what dictates the funding of local schools. That's really a separate question.

zepto 6y ago
I’m glad you agree that Prop 13 is not the cause of rising prices. > That's really a separate question. Schools are just one example of a service funded by property taxes. It’s not a separate question at all. > Property tax - especially on the land value rather than the improvements - is good. It can provide a feedback of the cost of what someone is using. What you are calling ‘value’ in this case is just a measure of how much other people want the property. It has nothing whatsoever to do with cost. This just makes it easier for even richer people to take existing property rather than invest in developing other places.
- warkdarrior 6y ago
  > What you are calling ‘value’ in this case is just a measure of how much other people want the property. It has nothing whatsoever to do with cost. This just makes it easier for even richer people to take existing property rather than invest in developing other places. Allocating resources to the people who want it most (and presumably make the most of it) seems like a good goal to have. Wouldn't that be the most effective use of resources?
  - zepto 6y ago
    > just a measure of how much other people want the property. Estimated property price doesn’t measure how much the existing owner wants the property. If they don’t want to sell it, we can safely assume that they want it more than the other people do.

zepto 6y ago

I’m glad you agree that Prop 13 is not the cause of rising prices. > That's really a separate question. Schools are just one example of a service funded by property taxes. It’s not a separate question at all. > Property tax - especially on the land value rather than the improvements - is good. It can provide a feedback of the cost of what someone is using. What you are calling ‘value’ in this case is just a measure of how much other people want the property. It has nothing whatsoever to do with cost. This just makes it easier for even richer people to take existing property rather than invest in developing other places.

warkdarrior 6y ago
> What you are calling ‘value’ in this case is just a measure of how much other people want the property. It has nothing whatsoever to do with cost. This just makes it easier for even richer people to take existing property rather than invest in developing other places. Allocating resources to the people who want it most (and presumably make the most of it) seems like a good goal to have. Wouldn't that be the most effective use of resources?
- zepto 6y ago
  > just a measure of how much other people want the property. Estimated property price doesn’t measure how much the existing owner wants the property. If they don’t want to sell it, we can safely assume that they want it more than the other people do.