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Right idea coming from the wrong guy. L.A.'s mayor, apparently sniffing out statewide possibilities after his second term expires in a couple of years, told a Sacramento audience that "progressives have to start thinking - and acting - big again." In a nutshell, he'd like to remove several of Proposition 13's tax controls on commercial property, and in the process pick up $8 billion in additional revenue a year, money that would funnel back into education. It's a sensible idea - especially given the horrendous state of California schools and universities - but it's not new, and it's bound to get torpedoed by the Howard Jarvis crowd. From Bloomberg:
The 1978 referendum, which allows tax reassessments only when residential property is sold, excludes some commercial property transactions in real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, according to the mayor. "Let's apply, as an idea, Prop 13's protections to homeowners and homeowners alone," Villaraigosa said in a speech to the Sacramento Press Club today. "And let's strengthen those protections. We could take half the money we generate to fund schools and use the other half to cut taxes for homeowners."
From Capitol Alert:
Villaraigosa was particularly critical of the spending cuts that Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature's Democrats made to balance the state budget after their efforts to extend some state taxes were rejected by Republicans. Those cuts, he said, will damage California's ability to educate its children and remain economically competitive. "Governor Brown, I say we need to have the courage to test the voltage in some of these so-called 'third-rail' issues, beginning with Proposition 13," Villaraigosa told the press club.
This is all part the Villaraigosa road show in which the mayor has offered up his left-leaning, labor-pleasing, dull-as-dishwater talking points - presumably setting the stage for a Senate run. When it comes to getting his puss in front of a network or cable camera for no particular reason, there's nobody better.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.