Free Thinker
151 posts
This is where I want my tax dollars going, to people like this man 😭❤️ @waynehhsiung
#SaveTheDogs #RightToRescue
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Hugo’s busy endorsing Traci’s opponent while his constituents are suffering from his destructive DSA policies.
“For a year, Galicia & numerous neighbors had called the office of their Councilman Hugo Soto Martinez…
‘They did nothing. We were abandoned’” samquinones.substack.com/p/the-fire-tha…
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@Cincinotus A grassroots group is trying to fix the bad parts of prop19!
Please support us and sign the petition asap! We have a short time to get it on the ballot.
Pls. Repost too, here’s the link: forcalifornians.com
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@teostealth @TahraHoops Since Prop 19, there is no tax protection if you turn into a landlord.
The anti-Prop 13 crowd has one goal. They want to strip homes from working class people and kick them out of the neighborhoods where they have lived for generations.
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We have known the impacts of Prop 13 on the California housing market for decades and it will continue to worsen unless we do something about it.
Charles Petersen@p_e_t_e_r_s_e_n
The American Dream in 2026: around 25 percent of all homes in coastal California are acquired via inheritance.
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@OmegaMan1971 @PhilSustainable A grassroots group is trying to fix the bad parts of prop19!
Please support us and sign the petition asap! We have a short time to get it on the ballot.
Pls. Repost too, here’s the link:
forcalifornians.com
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@PhilSustainable Prop 13 was a firewall against a corrupt legislature being able to pencil in a property tax increase for every grafted they could dream up. Sadly it's being eroded by prop 19 and "special assessments"
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Prop 13 is the California family trust fund of state policy. Granny buys a LA beach shack in 1980 for $80k, it’s now worth $4M. She passes it to her grandkid, who pays taxes on $80k. Meanwhile the transplant renting the converted garage pays $50k/year in rent
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@SinaiLawFirm Question, aren’t most eviction records sealed in CA?
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The System screws over tenants too. As the eviction drags on they owe more and more in rent debt. Most landlords won't try to collect, but institutional ones do. Credit ruined, wages garnished for 10+ years. The System bets on non-collection.
Non-profit lawyers help most tenants in a limited capacity and promise to step in for the trial, but when trial comes they are too busy and the tenant have to represent themselves in trial. They lose and then face the consequences of a sheriff's lockout, when they could have settled earlier.
There are other ways tenants get screwed by the System, in a much more fundamental way. Losing an eviction for many protected tenants is catasrophic.
Taxpayers subsidize housing for the bottom 25% with rent control, just cause, section 8, deed restricted housing, and affordable units. Even the middle 50% are subsidized now with AMI restricted units!
For many tenants, that's the only way they can afford to live in LA. And that's significant because it means a judgment is not just moving out and bad credit.
If they get evicted, their entire life has to change. They can't just move to another apartment. They lose their voucher, with an eviction on their record. They have to move to another city entirely, or even to a different state, take the kids out of school, move in with family, or end up in the street.
A slow eviction system hurts everyone. Investors/banks/insurance already redline LA and many refuse to invest. A 35-day eviction system will help reduce housing costs, building more housing, and give justice to both LLs and tenants.
(it will also put me out of business, but I'll be fine maybe I'll do personal injury)
Real Estate Lawyer@SinaiLawFirm
Do you want to know why rent is so expensive in LA? Why the application process takes so long? Why landlords want so much info from you? Here is a recent story: A family was referred to me for their eviction case. They were heading to a jury trial in one month and didn't have a lawyer, yet. They did all the paperwork and filing themselves, in-house to save on legal fees. And surprisingly, they did a great job. They filed the paperwork with LAHD. Gave proper notice to the tenants. I reviewed their paperwork and it was better quality than 90% of other eviction lawyers. I didn't see any viable way to dismiss the case on a technicality. As long as they were properly represented in trial, the family was going to win the eviction. They did everything by the book. Followed all the local rules. Gave all the necessary notices. The family told me the judge ordered the parties to mediate at the first court appearance. The family attended the mediation in court without a lawyer. The tenant was provided a lawyer by the city, for free. At the mediation the lawyer for the tenants offered this settlement: 1. 4 months to vacate the property 2. Cash to leave, paid upfront 3. Waiver of all owed rent 4. Sealed record They rejected the offer, of course. Why would they accept this? The family then asked me a great question. "What is our best case scenario with you in trial?" Based on my review, I gave them my most realistic estimate of the best case scenario in trial: 1. Both parties announce ready at the next trial date (1 month away) and trial takes 3 days. We win the trial. 2. Sheriff locks out the tenant 75 days after the trial. 3. about 110 days to possession. 4. Gave them an estimate cost for fees/prep time. 5. No viable collection of back rent, tenants had no assets. Obviously, this was the best case scenario. It could be worse. Trial can be delayed. While I was confident we are going to win, juries are unpredictable. This is where we had a surreal moment of collective clarity. The settlement offer they rejected is basically their best case scenario if they win the trial. This was not a coincidence. The attorney for the tenants asked for pretty much the same amount I quoted them for my fees. The lawyer for the tenants knew the family had to hire a lawyer for a jury trial. The lawyer knows it takes the sheriff 2-3 months to lockout after a judgment. The lawyer knows it's hard (and expensive) to collect against tenants with no assets. State and local government created a system in which cases take forever to litigate, eviction laws are extremely complex and technical, easy to dismiss cases, only one side has to pay a lawyer, and worst of all, possession enforcement takes 60-90 days instead of 5. And it's all getting worse. The leverage for the tenants is systemic. It's by design. Why would the tenants make any other offer? The landlords are left with no real options but a shitty settlement. There are no real choice. Even when you do everything right, you still lose. Tenants don't pay rent during evictions. They had no viable way to win the trial. There were no habitability issues. The landlords posted all the notices. Never raised the rent. Didn't retaliate. The landlords did everything right. And the tenants still win. The mother looked at me and asked "our base case in trial is the same as the shitty settlement offer? Are you telling me we should have taken the offer we rejected?" I didn't know how to respond.
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@GovPressOffice The force is still strong with the NIMBY crowd. They are the ones to blame about the housing crisis and even (to a degree) homelessness. Yet they think they are the virtuous angels of community input on city hall construction approvals.
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For too long the state accommodated local NIMBY interests — finally breaking through decades and decades of stalled work just last year.
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@enuffisenuffla @VeniceIntel They are cleaning today. The live view link the poster provided shows it. Looking good! Over all much better than in past years.
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@SinaiLawFirm I like your posts, you make a lot of sense! Maybe you should run! 😁
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We have way more to go before anything is going to be fixed in LA. Silent majority of residents want safety, no homeless, good schools.
All major candidates for mayor are way too soft on all 3 issues.
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@realitybasedlaw This is so disturbing. This is driving all the small landlords out of our city. It makes it harder for the good tenants too. Which
Mayor candidate will help landlords survive? Who would want to invest in this city?!
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Just got ex parte notice for the fourth day in a row from a defaulted tenant who hasn't shown up for the past three days in a row. Each day, my client missed work, drove an hour, and paid attorney fees.
Tenant has been in possession a year and never paid rent.
My client, a blue-collar Mexican immigrant, let her in because he bought her untrue sob story.
I know it wasn't true, because I evicted her from her previous residence. I made the settlement deal she violated by leaving weeks late, and not paying the small amount of money she agreed to for the extra time she was allowed.
My previous client, understandably, didn't want to pay extra attorney fees to go back to court, get her record unsealed, and get a worthless money judgment.
But even if they had, my client had no idea how to check her records. He just believed her -- wrongly figuring if it didn't work out, he could easily evict her.
He's learned his lesson. He won't be helping poor mothers with sad stories anymore, and he may just sell the place. It's housing providers like him that the system is driving out of business.
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@nithyavraman The city doesn’t work for landlords. You are driving developers and landlords out!
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We can make a city that works for everyone.
Learn more about our entire policy on our website.
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Los Angeles’ housing crisis is self-inflicted.
For decades, city leaders have taken deliberate actions to limit new housing.
Today, we announced our plan to fix this and triple housing production.
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@JasonWoods009 Please repost and spread the word! Help fix prop19
and get it on the ballot.
Go to ForCalifornians.com
to get the petition!
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@SteveHiltonx Please can we talk about repealing the f out of Prop 19, nothing but a liberal land grab stealing families houses & farms that have been in families for generations. Forced to sell due to tax changes in parent to children transfers! F Gavin
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🚨NEW POLL ALERT: Echelon Insights!
The polls keep saying the same thing. Californians are ready for change — and they’re ready for it now. This movement is real!
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@ced1106x Help us fix prop19 asap!
We need to get it on the ballot. Go to ForCalifornians.com
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@jim_desmond > We have to fight to keep the next generation here.
You can thank Prop 19 for sending them away!
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13% of San Diego County households can afford to buy a median-priced home. The median price is nearly $1 million.
Think about what that means for the next generation. Young people who grew up here, went to school here, built their lives here. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, small business owners. They can't afford to stay in the community they serve.
When we lose them, we lose coaches, volunteers, mentors, neighbors. We lose the fabric of what makes San Diego home.
Today I'm bringing forward "Restoring Homeownership for San Diegans" to study a new County-funded pilot program for first-time homebuyers.
We have to fight to keep the next generation here.
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@JasonWoods009 Please help us fix prop19
and sign the petition so we can get it on the ballot in 2026! We have a short time to get signatures, go to
ForCalifornians.com
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California hasn’t had a Republican governor in 20 years. This is the year that changes.
But only if we unite. Split the vote and we lose. Consolidate and we win.
One candidate. One shot. Let’s not waste it.
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@JCSandSJC We are trying to fix the bad parts of prop19. Please sign the
petition asap! We have a short time to try and get it on the ballot. Spread the word!
forcalifornians.com
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@Susan_Shelley And CA Prop 19 screwed my children out of inheriting valuable income property without tax reassessment. They either sell or pay the inflated taxes. And for what, more health care for illegal aliens??
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An introduction to Proposition 13, and why it remains so popular
When people buy a home, they usually buy as much as they can afford. Balancing everything on the wish list is always difficult. Mortgage payments, insurance and taxes are part of the calculation along with location and square footage.
Once they buy a home, they shouldn't face skyrocketing property tax bills based on rising real estate market values, something no one can control or even predict.
Here's how Prop. 13 helps Californians keep the home they buy, without getting taxed out of it by inflation. The median price home in California cost approximately...
1978: $70,890
1998: $200,000
2018: $571,058
2025: $880,000
Prop. 13 caps the annual increase in taxable (assessed) value at 2% per year. With a 2% annual increase in assessed value, in 2025...
The homeowner who purchased a home for $70,890 in 1978 has a taxable value of $179,801.
The homeowner who purchased a home for $200,000 in 1998 has a taxable value of $343,784.
The homeowner who purchased a home for $571,058 in 2018 has a taxable value of $655,966.
The homeowner who purchased a home for $880,000 in 2025 has a taxable value of $880,000 but is paying far less in property taxes than would have been owed before Prop. 13, when the statewide average tax rate was 2.67%. (Prop. 13 cut the rate to 1%.)
Because of Prop. 13, these four homeowners have an "ability to pay" factor built into their tax obligation. They have annual property tax bills of (not counting bonds, etc.)...
1978 purchaser: $1,798
1998 purchaser: $3,438
2018 purchaser: $5,710
2025 purchaser: $8,800
If Proposition 13 didn't exist, ALL these homeowners would owe property taxes on an assessed value of $880,000, with a tax rate that had no cap. If the rate was 2.67%, they'd each be facing a current year property tax bill of $23,500, not counting school bonds and other extra charges.
And that's why Proposition 13 is the third rail of California politics.
Calculations and median price estimates by Grok. Savings by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
How high would your property taxes be if Prop. 13 had never passed? Try HJTA's GuessingGame.org calculator and find out.
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@KDPhotography They are trying to get this on the ballot in CA. You can get the petition here:
exemptpropertytax.com
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I am convinced Prop 13 has been dead for the last 5 years. My property taxes now climb $500 dollars a year out of NO WHERE.
The shithole county I live in claims people 'voted for taxes with Measure E' and other bullshit. My tax bill will hit $8500 this year, when I bought the house in 2014 my tax bill was barely $6k. In 5 years it climbed over a grand in one year, minus them forcing my trash bill to it.
But the shit county I live in has already made it clear we are going to be paying for now the loss of Alta Dena, and especially Pacific Palisades and Malibu, plus ANOTHER shit 911 system that they already have squandered the money. The only exemption that has to be 'evaluated' is you MUST be 62 and PROVE with tax returns AND SS information that you are on that.
No disabled Vets can apply, NO standard disability can apply, and no fighting it.
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@Angelfish746279 They are trying to get this on the ballot in 2026 in CA! Sign the petition and spread the word.
exemptpropertytax.com
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@Susan_Shelley Now let's do no CA property tax for seniors over 65 who have owned their home for 20+ years. Seniors should not lose their homes if they retire & can't pay ridiculously high property taxes. My p tax on my Glendale home is $12.5K, my p tax on a TN vacation rental is $2.5K. Crazy!
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@ChavezKenny77 @UnionPatriot369 @CappInfluence @UnitdWeStand369 @PriamtheB @Ilegvm @misfitnici @CoVet_81 Help fix the bad parts of prop19
and repeal the death tax! We need to get it on the ballot. Please sign the petition at
forcalifornians.com
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This is what we're up against in california! You can't make this stuff up!
#SaveCalifornia #SaveAmerica #Trump47
#MAGA #VoteRed #GodWinsthroughJesus #JesusSaves #JeausLovesYou
@UnionPatriot369 @CappInfluence @UnitdWeStand369 @PriamtheB @Ilegvm💥 @misfitnici @CoVet_81 @rosejam181920🌹 @honeyybomb @x4Eileen @TheJudge96 @BeeAwake1 @bdonesem @Sheryle14 @m12870935 @gma_here @CAPatriotProjct @mil_vet17 @DragonSword778 @BiblicalQ17 @45mx_7 @Jessie63335515 @ToniLL22 @end3of6days9 @827js @45Gigi24 @_SmokeyGirl25 @Lindaprentice16 @ChavezKenny77 🇺🇸⚔️
Have a blessed day. ✝️
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@EmilySm43 We are working on it in CA! Go to this site and sign the petition to get it on the ballot in 2026!
exemptpropertytax.com
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@PaulGoldEagle We are trying to do the same in
CA and get it on the ballot in
2026! exemptpropertytax.com
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The Florida House just voted 80 to 30 to eliminate property taxes for homeowners.
That’s one of the boldest tax moves any state has attempted.
The Florida House Speaker called it "the most aggressive property tax legislation ever passed by a legislative chamber in the history of the United States."
That's not a small claim.
And it didn't come out of nowhere.
Florida homeowners have been getting crushed.
Home values across the state have exploded over the last five years.
A house worth $250,000 in 2019 is assessed at $450,000 today in many counties.
The tax bill followed that number straight up.
For retirees and long term homeowners on fixed incomes, that increase hasn't been gradual.
It's been brutal.
Here's what the proposal actually does.
It gradually increases the homestead exemption by $100,000 annually for ten years, reaching complete elimination of non school property taxes by 2037.
Law enforcement and public safety budgets are constitutionally protected, so they can't be touched.
For a homeowner with a $400,000 property, that's potentially $4,000 to $6,000 back in their pocket every single year.
For retirees who did everything right and are now watching inflation and rising taxes eat through their fixed income, that number is SIGNIFICANT.
Governor DeSantis has been pushing this hard.
He's called property taxes "an oppressive and ineffective form of taxation," arguing that as long as they exist, homeowners are effectively paying rent to the government in perpetuity.
But here's the part nobody's celebrating yet.
Florida collects roughly $14.1 billion annually from the homestead property taxes this proposal would eliminate.
That money currently funds fire departments, police, EMS, road maintenance, school districts, and county infrastructure across the entire state.
Nobody has clearly answered where that money comes from instead.
And there's a twist most people aren't talking about at all.
Economists project that eliminating property taxes could actually INCREASE home values by making ownership significantly cheaper to hold long term.
Which sounds great until you realize that higher home values mean even less affordability for first time buyers who are already completely locked out of this market.
Existing homeowners win.
First time buyers might get squeezed even harder.
There's also a long road ahead before any of this matters.
This still needs Senate approval, which hasn't moved yet.
Then it needs to survive the full legislative session.
Then 60% voter support in a statewide referendum to pass as a constitutional amendment.
That's an incredibly high bar and a lot of places for this to stall, get watered down, or die entirely.
Florida just lit the match.
Whether it starts a revolution or burns the house down is still very much to be determined.
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@RangerSyl Help us fix it! Sign the petition ASAP!
forcalifornians.com
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@rcfor52 @Susan_Shelley @HJTA THANK YOU. Prop 19 will force me to leave the state. I'm not investing another penny into California.
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No, under Proposition 13 (1978) the assessed value of that $80K home went up 2% per year while under the same ownership. Under Prop. 58 (1986) a principal residence passed from parent to child was excluded from reassessment. (Prop. 19 limited and capped that exclusion in 2020.)
Phil BuildTheFutureNow 🇺🇸🦅🌲💙@PhilSustainable
Prop 13 is the California family trust fund of state policy. Granny buys a LA beach shack in 1980 for $80k, it’s now worth $4M. She passes it to her grandkid, who pays taxes on $80k. Meanwhile the transplant renting the converted garage pays $50k/year in rent
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