By Paul Ehrlich
Re “I Hope to Die Before I Go Broke”
In George Laase’s essay this morning, he cherry picks the effects of the school taxes on property owners, especially himself.
This is what Mr. Laase says his taxes are calculated at. His 1951 home has a current assessed value of $450,000. At $48 per $100,000 of assessed value, his taxes would be $216. Per federal government figures, the average inflation rate for the last 100 years is 3.22 percent. Under Prop. 13, assessed valuation goes up a maximum of 2 percent. Thus, Mr. Laase’s taxes, as measured by normal purchasing power, decreases by 1.33 percent each year. This is a real good deal, Mr. Laase.
Here is a better one. I live close to Mr. Laase in Sunkist Park. But the assessed valuation for my 1951 home is only $147,000. The difference is assessed valuations has to do with the timing of when additions were made to our homes. At the same $48 per assessed valuation, my proposed-bond tax for the bond is only $70. But wait. It gets only better. The $95 per parcel tax will expire soon. Thus my net school tax will go down by $18. This is a fabulous way for senior citizens to raise over $100,000,000 for our (grand)kids.
My third point, of course, is that maintaining quality schools raises the market value of all Culver City properties.
Mr. Ehrlich may be contacted at PMSHA@aol.com
