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Re:How California Became America’s Housing Market Nightmare by mistermann on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @01:59PM (#21465776)
> I don't know that it's more "unfair" to the younger generations to not increase property taxes than it would be to the home owners to do so. Why would someone who bought a house for 100k be expected to pay taxes on 2M years later? A lot of these people probably had normal jobs and incomes, they didn't chose for Google/Apple/Facebook to move into town and send the property prices sky high. Yes, they benefit as owners but this rule only takes effect if they don't sell their house and continue to live in it.

I've always found it weird this dichotomy that seems to exist where so many people (who aren't even home owners) find it "logically" inappropriate for home owners to pay any increased taxes based on returns on housing (via prop 13, capital gains exemptions, etc), yet find it completely reasonable that those who earn more money working should pay not just higher total dollars in taxes, but also a higher percentage of their income to taxes, and are outraged at any suggestions to the contrary.

Higher earned income is typically a result of some combination of investment in education, risk taking, and hard work (things that actually require effort), whereas noteworthy returns on real estate, at least for the average Joe home owner, seems to be typically little more than just being in the right place at the right time, doing the same thing that most anyone does: buy a house and live in it.

Rewarding dumb luck and "punishing" hard work seems like the exact opposite of how a society should be run.

As for what to do with all these complexities that have built up over time in our societies, I increasingly think we should look to China and see what they do, because from all the Youtube videos I watch on that country (aka reality itself, or at least a portion of it, whereas reading books and news articles can easily give completely polar opposite impressions of reality), because whatever it is they are doing certainly seems to be bearing fruit that is extremely beneficial to broad society, across all income classes.

Re:How California Became America’s Housing Market Nightmare by malvosenior on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @02:20PM (#21466032)
Since you're replying to me, I'll say that dichotomy doesn't exist in my mind. I don't think people who earn more should pay a higher percentage of their taxes, mainly for the reasons you list.
Re:How California Became America’s Housing Market Nightmare by mistermann on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @02:39PM (#21466259)
> I don't think people who earn more should pay a higher percentage of their taxes, mainly for the reasons you list.

And I assume you mean that extends to gains on housing as well.

Sorry if it seemed I was implying that, I considered putting some comment in noting the fact that whenever these things are being discussed (anything involving behavior of groups....so basically politics in general), it is literally not possible to know who belongs to what group.

Reality is now so complex, I'm starting to wonder if it may be possible that democracy, at least in its current form and with its current constituents in their current form, is literally incapable of handling the world the scientists and indutrialists have built. I think it is perfectly plausible that a benevolent, authoritarian dictatorship is the only thing that has a chance of getting things right. Not that this isn't fixable, necessarily, but I suspect it would require us to spend a considerable amount of time investing the same effort we've put into developing science, technology, industry, supply chains, etc into understanding how individuals and societies work, and modify our institutions and methodologies accordingly (once again, something an authoritarian state doesn't have to bother with).

Everyone seems to think and behave as if we know well enough how they work, but I highly doubt this is the case based on the rapidly increasingly amount of inequality, emotional polarization, and outright bizarre and chaotic behavior that can easily be observed in Western democratic societies. And very few powerful, influential, or even simply intelligent people seem the slightest bit curious(!) about why people are increasingly behaving this way....rather, most of what I hear is Group X is "just wrong" and needs to be educated on how it is, and then the problem will be solved. To that I say, good luck expecting shallow thinking like this to solve multiple interrelated problems in the most complex systems in existence.

It seems to me there is some saying like ~"before man can learn humility, first he must be destroyed", but can't recall the exact words.