Quote:
Originally Posted by EddyTheDog
It all sounds very undemocratic to me - The Republicans seem to have decided to punish the voters for being stupid enough to vote for Obama...
I'm pretty sure that's not the way it is meant to work.....
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Sadly, though, that is how it works.
In 1990 my state passed a ballot measure that put a cap on the amount of property taxes they could charge you. The cap was a percent, for example 5% of the value of your house, and it can't go up without a vote of the people. There have been a few votes, but they have failed.
So, how do they get around it? They raise the value of your property. Property values in the little town I grew up in have gone through the roof. The house I grew up in was a single level 4 bedroom (the 4th bedroom was so small you would never use it for a bedroom). It wasn't very big, but it had a nice backyard with a creek behind it. My mom bought the house in 1983 for about $36K. She sold it in 1994 for about $40K (after my brother and I were grown and gone). Last year I happened to be out there and drove by it. I saw it was for sale. Out of curiosity I looked it up. They were now selling it for $235K. That is freaking ridiculous.