

California’s Woes and Prop 13 - cwan
http://volokh.com/2010/05/04/californias-woes-and-prop-13/

======
stretchwithme
I think I saw somewhere that California state spending DOUBLED between 1996
and 2006, going from $100 billion to $200 billion in just a decade.

Localities could have used all that housing bubble tax revenue to pay down
their debt, but instead many choose to spend it as fast as they could get it.
And now their ability to meet their commitments is collapsing.

I'd like to see spending growth limited to the 5 year moving average of a
municipality's revenues, with the excess going to pay down debt. Politicians
are just too short sighted to be allowed to spend everything.

~~~
joshu
I have had EXACTLY the same thought about the 5 year moving average. Although
I think having the excess going to pay down debt is just an encouragement to
run up more debt. Instead, why not hold/invest, like a private university
would?

~~~
stretchwithme
because then they would continue to be in debt in order to invest and thats
something that doesn't quite make sense.

and when they go cash in those investments during a down economy, they'll all
be down. unless they put it all into derivatives.

