<story><title>High property taxes are good</title><url>http://brooock.com/a/property-taxes-are-good</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>anonymousiam</author><text>Prop 13 solved two problems at once.  It forced a reduction in the out-of-control government spending, and it saved seniors from losing their houses.  IMHO the only problem with Prop 13 was the &amp;quot;grandfathering&amp;quot; clause.  The cuts should have been perpetual and across the board.</text></item><item><author>btilly</author><text>And, thanks to Proposition 13, California has entirely removed this policy tool from consumer housing.&lt;p&gt;A tremendous amount of our problems, from high rent to gridlock, can be traced back to this decision.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mdorazio</author><text>&amp;gt; It forced a reduction in the out-of-control government spending&lt;p&gt;No, it didn&amp;#x27;t.  California just kept adding taxes everywhere else to make up the difference and still had an annual deficit  most of the 13 years I lived there.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; It saved seniors from losing their houses&lt;p&gt;Why are seniors magically allowed to be immune to basic market forces when no one else is?</text></comment>
<story><title>High property taxes are good</title><url>http://brooock.com/a/property-taxes-are-good</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>anonymousiam</author><text>Prop 13 solved two problems at once.  It forced a reduction in the out-of-control government spending, and it saved seniors from losing their houses.  IMHO the only problem with Prop 13 was the &amp;quot;grandfathering&amp;quot; clause.  The cuts should have been perpetual and across the board.</text></item><item><author>btilly</author><text>And, thanks to Proposition 13, California has entirely removed this policy tool from consumer housing.&lt;p&gt;A tremendous amount of our problems, from high rent to gridlock, can be traced back to this decision.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>throwthroyaboat</author><text>Doesn&amp;#x27;t Prop 13 also apply to commercial property? And second&amp;#x2F;third&amp;#x2F;30th houses? I think they smuggled a bear in as a rabbit with this one.</text></comment>