CactusBoyScout t1_j2dyixf wrote on December 31, 2022 at 3:33 PM

Reply to comment by ctindel in New York Lawmakers File Psychedelics Legalization Bill For 2023 by FredricTheConqueror

They’re both pretty big factors. Prop 13 strongly disincentivizes seniors from selling their family homes after their kids leave the house, for one thing.

It’s pretty normal in other housing markets for retirees to move to smaller housing when their kids are grown. The family home then becomes a home for a young family. So instead CA has a ton of older folks in massive houses because they’d actually pay more to move somewhere smaller.

Also if we loosened zoning you’d still have a ton of older people refusing to sell for redevelopment because their property taxes are capped at a few hundred dollars per year. So again it interferes with a lot of housing cycles.

ctindel t1_j2e5ork wrote on December 31, 2022 at 4:25 PM

Society doesn’t need to be built assuming old people will downsize plenty of people want to live in their house forever (and that’s fine) or pass the house on to their children (and that’s also fine) and it sure as shit shouldn’t tax them to the point where they have to sell their family house.

I’d have no problem with a law that allowed people over 55 to keep their old property tax payment if they sell a primary residence and move to a smaller residence that would have a higher tax burden. But I don’t think it would make as big of a difference as you think it will, but who knows until we try.

Anyway if there’s anything society should be subsidizing it’s helping middle class families and old people become and stay home owners. In a world where housing prices are going up because giant corporations and REITs are just starting to move into SFH as investments this should be on the top 5 of government priorities.

Danimal_House t1_j2ewwkr wrote on December 31, 2022 at 7:29 PM

It’s okay to admit you weren’t fully aware of what you were talking about man. You don’t need to backtrack and move the goalposts. Just go “Ah shit. Okay well yes that sucks, California seems to be a bit insane when it comes to these prop laws, but it would be nice if we could do it even better then they are.”

ctindel t1_j2ey0ji wrote on December 31, 2022 at 7:36 PM

It’s not moving the goalposts I said up front I’d be fine with amending it. Every law has unintentional side effects and very rarely is the solution to throw the law out, you just change it to minimize the side effects while keeping the main benefits. Every once in a while you run into something so dumb like the 18th amendment or making abortion illegal where the solution is a 180 degree reversal but usually you just fix the problem with small changes.