Real Estate 2007

[justin]

I'd like to see a Proposition that gives $10,000 per year to every man, woman, and child who has resided in California for greater than 10 years. And everyone who has resided in CA less than 10 years will be taxed a few thousand dollars per year to pay for this new program. You know, the program to reward long-time Californians who made it the great place it is today.

Except one would have to conduct a little demographic research to set the "years of residency" requirement so that 51% of the folks will qualify for the $10,000 check. Otherwise the Prop might not get passed. Sounds kind of like a pyramid scheme now that I think about it. But that shouldn't present any long term problems, should it?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Perhaps it'd be interesting to stop looking at the resulting problem (lousy schools in CA) and start looking at the real problem.

Which isnt that taxes arent high enough...its that the money isnt spent in the right places.

MA did the same crap when prop 2 1/2 was put in place. The bureaucrats laid off all the teachers, police and firemen. Then a lot of them got voted out and some of the bureaucracy was cut and most of the useful civil servants hired back.

Besides, I thought it had been established that there wasnt much of a correlation between money spent on schools and the quality of an education.

Of course, all those studies (and I wonder who could have done them : ) sort of go out the window when you look at the school scores in our new wealthy town vs our old not so wealthy town...

 

[honobob]

Perhaps it'd be interesting to stop looking at the resulting problem (lousy schools in CA) and start looking at the real problem.

Ding, ding, ding!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Hey...that'll be 50c and no more IOU's!

Seriously though...california pulled in an enormous windfall in the late 90's from taxes on all of that 'unexpected' investment income, and they're pulling more in the last few years.

Did that get funneled into the schools or other worthy causes?

Ummm...NO! I was spent on more pork.

But people do like to go directly for the tax 'stick' when the quality of services suffers. And the bureaucrats know that.

 

[Danny]

I lived in the Bay Area - Walnut Creek, we moved there because we thought they had some pretty good public schools relative to what was on offer (when I got to MN my definition of good changed)...the class room size for elementary was 35. ..they had closed the next door elementary school and put kids in trailers on the playground. They axed the arts and music programs and were constantly looking for more to cut. The parents were holding fundraisers to try to staunch the bleeding, I got volunteered by the principal to get an old stinking sea container from work hauled out to the playground to store sports equipment. I also had to clean it out and paint it! He did mention me in the monthly newsletter though

There was a woman at a party that was big on the benefits of Prop 13.
When I offered that I thought smaller classroom sizes were a good thing,etc. she seriously said that it was ok the way it was since they would be going to college with classrooms that had a couple hundred students in them....I went and got another drink and someone else to chat with.