California Commentary: Where Would We Be Without Prop. 13?

◼ DATELINE CHICAGO: Mayor warns property taxes could be going up 150%. - Jon Coupal/Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation

Suppose the mayor of your city announced a property tax hike of 150% or, stated another way, two-and-a-half times your current tax. A homeowner accustomed to paying $2,000, would see their next bill increase to $5,000, while a bill of $4,000 would jump to $10,000. Coincidentally, these amounts roughly approximate the average property tax rate in California just prior to Proposition 13’s passage in 1978 -- a tax burden so high many homeowners were forced out of their homes.

An increase of this magnitude may sound farfetched, but not to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is seriously warning that in order to pay the mounting bill for government employee pensions -- a bill that will triple in 2015 when a balloon payment comes due -- property taxes could be forced to go up 150%. Needless to say, Chicago residents are not protected against the arbitrary increase in property taxes, a protection that Californians enjoy because of Proposition 13. Homeowners in the Windy City are entirely at the mercy of government officials.

Although the exodus from California continues unabated (net domestic out-migration of nearly 2 million residents over the last dozen years) it’s a good bet that not many looking for a better life are moving to Detroit, a city whose decline and now bankruptcy have made national headlines. But Chicago is not much better off.... MORE, at the link...