By Michael Milligan
Re “I Hope I Die Before I Go Broke”
Not only was George Laase spot-on in his essay, he even overlooked another burden for property owners, one that took effect on Jan. 1.
To further tighten lending rules that were abused by banks five years ago, new 2014 regulations not only lower the qualifying debt-to-income ratio, but the debt calculation now also includes a wide variety of common debt, from student loans to fees, points and yes, property taxes.
The Mortgage Bankers Assn. admits that mortgages already are eight times more difficult to obtain than in the years prior to the housing collapse.
Any additional increase in property taxes instantly will deny even well-qualified borrowers the ability to purchase or refinance their home. That will make the school bond's levy or even the current $95 “parcel tax” burden all seem like pocket change.
Hence, it also makes every city official who claims to support affordable housing guilty of hypocrisy since the direct consequence of the $106 million school bond will be the exact opposite.
Howard Jarvis would probably turn over in his grave, if he could see how Culver City is eroding the hard-earned relief of Prop. 13. Obviously a vocal minority still believes the government makes the sun shine and the grass grow. But any taxpayer supporting this bond is like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders.
Of course, the School Board will never mention that. Any amount of money never will be enough. We are dealing with unions here. So what if homeowners take a big hit? Or even if they lose their homes just as long as the “public servants” get their hands on more of our money.
Culver City already has the highest property taxes, the highest sales tax, the highest utility taxes, the only red-light camera scam left in the county and even a tax on paper bags. The list goes on. Yet we still have budget deficits, year after year. Where does all your money go?
Not surprisingly, Culver City also has the most government employees per capita raking in over $200,000 (thank you, Linda Shahinian, for the revelation) in the County. Are these people really 400 percent better than average-salaried Californians at a time when unemployment is stubbornly high?
Then there are lavish programs like lifetime medical coverage for City Council members, or funding for endless “consultants” (read: lawyers) by the City Attorney (read: more lawyers). The waste is staggering. But rather than cut spending, they want to tax you more. So far they've used children (Prop. EE) and the elderly (Measure Y. What's next? Cute little bunnies?
Their tactics are truly shameful.
Save your home while curbing government waste and corruption: vote No to more debt.
Mr. Milligan may be contacted at vector123@sbcglobal.net
