jag has it right.
prop 13 has nothing to do with it. out of control spending and entitlements has everything to do with it. the average house turns over about every 7 years or less. that means its sold and re-assessed.
when you buy a house you are making a deal with the .gov that you will pay 1.25% or so of the sale price as tax forever and it can only raise AT MOST 2% so people like my 95 year old grandparents who have lived in their San Jose house since 1941 pay only ~800 a year, but the next door neighbors who bought for 700k pay 8,000 a year.
the anti prop 13 people well know that tax revenue per capita is MUCH more now than it was in the late 70s. its mostly jealousy against people who bought at low prices and have stayed put. but in reality its people now buying at these hugely inflated values who pay the bulk of the property tax. do i wish i had bought for 100k 15 years ago ? yes but i was 20 and making 10$ an hour while goinig to college can i afford my taxes now ? yes and its (one of) the reasons i chose the house i chose. i know that my taxes are only going up x% per year. in fact they went down becuase the assessor in my county knows the values went WAY down and was pre-emptive revaluing so people wouldnt appeal their tax base.
this state is BILLIONs in the red every year as they proimised the world to people when times were good. smart people with skills are leaving the state in droves leaving ever more unskilled low wage low educated people teh state has to care for.
S.F. alone has a city budget larger than several STATES. they throw money at every conceivable sponge there is.
