California Governor Jerry Brown says he's going to take a "hard look" at Proposition 13. The problem is the only remedies at his disposal are going to bring ever more pain to cities and counties. Because Prop 13 is a part of the California constitution, true reform can only come with voter approval.
Voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978, when Brown was governor the first time. The measure slashed property taxes, which were used to fund schools and local governments, and made it harder for cities and counties to raise taxes.
Brown campaigned last year on a vow to work with cities and counties to decentralize power. But he has not specified how local governments might pay for some of the programs that are currently driving the state's budget into perennial multibillion-dollar deficits.
Californians have been trained like Pavlov's dog to treat Prop 13 as sacrosanct, but there is little understanding of what the measure does and how it functions. I work in the tax assessor's office, and you'd be surprised how many people I talk to every day who say: "I used to be under Prop 13." That simple statement shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the state's tax system, one that will need to be overcome if we are ever going to get the state's business affairs in order.
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