Letter: California still in red from Proposition 13

Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005 | 8:34 a.m.

I must write to set Graydon W. Jones straight on his Nov. 22 letter, "Proposition 13 was needed in California." He was ragging on Hal Rothman's Nov. 13 column, saying Mr. Rothman didn't know what he was talking about.

Well, Mr. Jones, I too was born in California and lived there during the campaign to pass Proposition 13, and I was totally against its passage.

After Proposition 13 was passed, the services that people were used to stopped. Schools lost tremendous amounts of money and had to change to survive; many libraries were closed or continued on a limited basis; highways were left to get more ruts and holes because there just wasn't enough money to fix them. Many other services for the "people of California" were lessened or stopped completely.

I know firsthand what it was like because I had children in the school system. I helped meet the needs of the schools by donating whatever I could to them. And the younger generation of people, or anyone who wanted to move within California, are the ones who have had to "pay the price" with the 1-plus percent taxes on real estate purchased after Proposition 13.

As we all know, properties are at an all-time high in California. So just do the math, and see what these folks must pay. The owners of commercial, business-type properties, are still at the "old rate" unless the properties are sold.

The one thing Proposition 13 has done to California is put it in the "red." California has never recovered from the loss of funds from Proposition 13. So, Nevada voters, beware. Don't listen to people like Mr. Jones. He is wrong.

Listen to people like Mr. Rothman and be very careful what you vote for. Don't go for the "immediate cash," as it will come back to haunt you.

Peggy A. Poehler

Henderson