Letter: Proposition 13 is not to blame for California’s woes

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 | 9:04 a.m.

Nevada's property tax system needs to be modernized. Nevada is not the state or in the state it was 25 years ago. A Band-Aid will not do when the system needs a major operation.

The concept of a California Proposition 13 type approach has been pooh-poohed by every interviewed office holder and bureaucrat. Proposition 13 as structured and passed in California does have some flaws, but it is not the cause of California's current fiscal crisis as every politician would have you believe.

Proposition 13 is a convenient target for incompetent politicians, decision makers and government mismanagers to blame for every fiscal crisis they encounter. If Proposition 13 was so terrible, explain to me why California ran surpluses and just a few years ago refunded annual state auto license fees? Orange County's fiscal crisis didn't come from property tax problems, but from mismanagement of their investment funds.

Remember, every $150,000 home resold for $1 million puts a revised entry on the tax rolls of $1 million -- 633 percent greater than what the roll value was before it was sold. In addition, the government services provided to the $1 million home are no more than that for the $150,000 home. So Proposition 13 becomes the scapegoat for incompetence and mismanagement. How come most people live within their budget, but government always needs more and can't make a budget work?

Use the history of Proposition 13, correct its flaws, and it will work wonders!

GILBERT EISNER