Proposition 13

In the days leading up to the 1994 baseball strike I remember watching several players being interviewed about the issues involved. The interviewer, I think it was Bob Costas, asked about the owners who were losing money and shouldn't that be taken into consideration. The players response was that those owners who couldn't afford to take the losses should sell the team to someone who could.

So what does this have to do with Prop 13 you may ask. Well, prior to the passage of Prop 13 several efforts had been made to get the legislature to enact some type of property tax relief. A combination of a rising home prices, stagnant economy and inflation was forcing people from their homes, especially the elderly and others on a fixed income. These pleas fell on deaf ears because the government didn't think there was a problem. The increase in home values meant more money every year; why would they want to do anything about that. The government's solution was the same as the players. If you can't afford to pay you need to sell to someone who can.