Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Too Little, Too Late ?

Today I was out to lunch with a group that has individuals with both liberal and conservative positions. Not just borderline liberal or borderline conservative opinions, but both far left and far right opinions. The subject of property taxes came up, and I commented that older people in Illinois were being put in the unenviable position of being driven out of their homes because of increasing property taxes. As most of you are aware, a similar situation was occurring here in California about fifty years ago, and that led to the passage of Proposition 13, which was an attempt to limit one’s property taxes even though the value of one’s home was significantly increasing.

One individual commented that his grandchildren had been pulled out of their local public school and were now in a charter school, because of both educational and safety concerns.

Meanwhile, in California there is a bill that will allocate $300 million to schools that have free lunch for their students. This essentially means $300 million for poor students. This largesse is driven by the fact that the state is failing when it comes to educating students. 84% of Black California students could not pass the math standards test whereas about 50% of White students could not pass the same standard’s test. 

At this point in the luncheon’s conversation, the most liberal individuals became noticeably quieter. … Hmmm!

Is this too little or is it too late?

Where else in this world can you do a poor job and continue to reap the same or increasing monetary rewards? If one hires a plumber or a landscaper and he does a poor job, that same plumber or landscaper would not be hired again, as individuals should expect to get their money’s worth when they hire someone to do a job. Why should it not be the same with public schools? This should especially be true for older individuals who do not have any kids in these schools, and yet are forced to pay for a substandard educational result?

I would like propose a compromise to potentially solve the dilemma of older people being forced out of their homes because of higher taxes that go to pay for a substandard education result. My proposal would initially lower property taxes on older individuals, and the decrease would be dependent on the results of standardized testing. For instance, if X percent of the state’s students do not meet the testing standards, then those over 65 would have the following year’s property taxes cut by a similar X percent.

Is this too little, too late?

Almost everybody would benefit. Whereas older individuals would not forced out of their homes, there is the potential for students to actually get a much better education. The only group that would be disappointed with this compromise would be the politicians, who up till this point, can continue to pour seemingly unlimited dollars into a failing educational system!

4/28/23

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