This piece is very perceptive in portraying Prop 13 property-tax caps and rent-control as sibling policies, each feeding destructive "I've got mine" politics. They both bribe incumbent owners/renters/voters with an economically valuable seniority privilege, at the expense of the future and flexibility. Children and young adults suffer the most: they move the most, and none have the benefit of paying frozen base rates established 20-30 years ago.
I wonder if both rent-control and prop-tax-caps could be knocked down in an equal-protection lawsuit. Why does the person who moved in yesterday, perhaps far needier than the longer-term resident/owner (and just as deserving of basic civic services) have to pay so much more? Is duration-of-residence a legitimate basis for such strong civic discrimination rooted in law?
I wonder if both rent-control and prop-tax-caps could be knocked down in an equal-protection lawsuit. Why does the person who moved in yesterday, perhaps far needier than the longer-term resident/owner (and just as deserving of basic civic services) have to pay so much more? Is duration-of-residence a legitimate basis for such strong civic discrimination rooted in law?