#Politics And then there was the evening with a Trumper relative who claimed that "electric vehicles are a scam," that "there's plenty of oil and coal," and "government shouldn't pass laws choosing one side over the other, the market should decide."

I learned long ago not to take the bait.

#Politics "We live in a culture that denies the difference between men and women." 🙄

#Politics "Trans actors should be banned from playing trans people because acting means playing something you're not."

Good lord, this talk show host is an a**hole.

"We're taught that white people are evil but black people are not."

#Politics "Liberal actors are functionally illiterate."

I'm waiting for a ballgame to begin, which is why I'm listening to this livestream, but good lord it's easy to see how people addicted to this garbage get poisoned by it.

@WordsmithFL

Geezuz H Krist

@WordsmithFL Sorry but that's still messed up, imagine if that slippery slope caught on for all citizens.

@MidnightRider The person lied, said it applied to everyone. I have a problem with lying, especially to strangers in a public place.

It will never apply to everyone. That's a sure way to get voted out of office.

@WordsmithFL @MidnightRider

Of course not

@WordsmithFL I used to believe in "never" then Marjorie, Lauren and Don were given huge power and the people applauded. I still say that law smacks of desperation on the part of California. I lean left but NY and California are poorly managed, and their fees and taxes reflect that fact.

@MidnightRider @WordsmithFL

I am wondering what the rationale behind it is. Beyond "give us your money."

@BlueStateBabe #California's budget revenues are a roller coaster due to Props 13 and 4 in the 1970s. The state and localities were forced to shift revenue sources to other sources.

(Disclosure: I was a budget analyst for a CA municipality, and later a finance commissioner for the same city.)

I suspect the rationale is that these rich people built their wealth off the state's resources, and now they're going to walk without contributing their fair share.

@MidnightRider

@WordsmithFL @BlueStateBabe Well that rationale is universal, I built mine in NY, I'd prefer what's left of it be mine.

@WordsmithFL @MidnightRider

Makes sense.

That said, I moved to CA in the 70's just as real estate began to abnormally skyrocket in value. Homeowner's were losing their homes due to taxes.

By the time I was old enough to consider homeownership, thankfully prop 13 was in place. Then I moved to Oregon. Taxes went from $700 per year on a 1300sf home with a thousand sf outbuilding on 2+ acres, to $2700/year on an 1100 sf 2bdrm townhouse. Ouch.

@BlueStateBabe @WordsmithFL Oh I feel that. Realtor.com tax history on NY properties is the cure for homesickness.

@BlueStateBabe Prop 13 only applied if you were the homeowner at the time it passed. After that, a new owner would have to pay the new rate, limited to (I think) a 2% increase per year.

Cities started creating assessment districts to circumvent Props 13 and 4. What people think are high property taxes usually are all sorts of assessments for common utilities and infrastructure.

@WordsmithFL Essentially, my taxes stayed the same with the rate based upon purchase price. However, every improvement made was used to boost the tax value. I made so many improvements my taxes doubled. But as I said, it was still only $700.

Oregon has some limitations on the increase, but they are SO much higher. And as you said, many assessments. With yearly propositions to add more. It is really challenging.

@WordsmithFL

Younger generations believe that older generations holding on to their houses has caused the housing shortage.

What they don't understand is that "buying down" in size is still generally buying up in price. And yes, the sale of the house will likely cover the cost of the new dwelling, but the new yearly taxes will be unaffordable.

@BlueStateBabe We invested in our condo upgrades to make the propert turn-key. We were able to sell the condo at the worst of the Great Recession for what we were asking. Agents were telling us to drop out price $50K. We sold to the first family in the door.

Our Florida house belonged to snowbirds. They were desperate to move the house. We lowballed them and they accepted.

We've invested in regular upgrades, so easily it's worth more than double what we paid in 2009.

@WordsmithFL I understand your 2% number to be correct.
@BlueStateBabe

@WordsmithFL

I just walk away. They are not allowed to steal my peace ☮️ any longer.

@LnzyHou People like that are just looking for attention. I once walked out of his house in the middle of dinner because he was spewing racist epithets. I asked him to stop. He repeated it thinking I would let slide. I got up and walked out. He followed me into the driveway, apologized, and asked me to come back. I did this in front of his family; I think it embarrassed him.

There's a reason why I visit only once every five years.

@WordsmithFL

I grew up with the N word frequently spoken. No amount of begging changed my father’s behavior. Then I got married and had children. Told him if he said it again I would walk out. He said it again. I packed up my baby & went home.

Never again.

Imagine my amazement to learn he voted for Obama. Twice.

@LnzyHou My mother grew up in New Orleans. Her emotionally distant mother hired an African-American women to raise her three children. My mom said many times that she considered the nanny to be her mother.

Thankfully I was raised not to discriminate, because of her experience.

We were friends with an African-American family in the neighborhood. The other neighbors tried to vote them out of the neighborhood.

@WordsmithFL well that sounds excruciating.

good show you can limit your exposure that way.

@rpardee I've dropped out of my life in recent years several people I care about but who are toxic. Two got the boot for racist remarks.

@WordsmithFL @rpardee

@WordsmithFL Damned California commies! 😆

@Ironworker229 Funny how the California Commies know how to invest and improve on their property values. It's almost as if they understand how capitalism works.

@WordsmithFL Inexplicably the 5th or 6th largest economy...In the WORLD. 🤷‍♂️

@WordsmithFL FWIW, though I continue to benefit from Prop 13 tax limits, I feel like the 2% figure may be too low and could stand to be bumped by 1 or 2%. I don't want to see folks on a fixed income thrown out of their homes, but there are so many working people that are having a tough time. My Dad related to me, as I was griping about the car tax that was the catalyst in the recall of Gov. Gray Davis: "Taxes are like a squeezed water balloon, push it in here, and it'll pop out somewhere else."

@WordsmithFL Dear Alabama, that's what the south actually did! I've visited one of the mansion museums, I saw the proof.

@WordsmithFL Just wait till the GOP writes a law that women have to get men snacks and sandwiches during the super bowl and it passes!

@MidnightRider For years, my wife had to stay in the kitchen while her last husband and his drunken friends watched the Super Bowl or NASCAR. It was only after she left him for me that she realized how repressed she'd been.

Now I can't shut her up. That one is on me. 😉

@WordsmithFL You shouldn't want to! All people, all equal, all should breathe free! We're all dying after this !

@WordsmithFL @MidnightRider

She’s a lucky woman.

@WordsmithFL TBH, Stephen. I thought making continuous left turns was unbelievable, a revelation, the most fun ever; But I was 7 and learning to shift in the back lot.

@WordsmithFL I've really begun to think that the majority of these "beliefs" are held for performative and/or financial reasons. Not only did the Internet give almost everyone in the first world a way to have their voice heard and to reach multitudes but it also amplifies confirmation biases to an extent never before seen in history. Your listening right now is proof positive. This guy will "radicalize" some portion of Americans whereas before it would only have been a limited no. of Alabamans.

@hallmarc Yeah, it's all about the ratings. The same with #Trump, the same with #FoxNews. You build a dedicate base with a demonstrable propensity to buy the product you're hawking.

I read an article recently that Republicans have pretty much tapped out the small-dollar donors because Trump milked them dry. The big-dollar donors know w loser when they see one, so they're not sending him money any more.

@WordsmithFL

"We're taught that some people are evil."

@WordsmithFL this is what we get after 40 years of diminishing support for education and critical thinking skills. Organized religion as the unquestioned backbone of communities has also played no small part.

@AnnetteTRemain When I tell people here in Florida that I'm originally from California, many times I'm told that CA is a hellhole with illegal immigrants on every corner ready to mug/rape/kill you. They won't listen to the truth. But then this burg is Trumper Central, so not unexpected.

@WordsmithFL Trumplicans just parrot orange potatoheads lines. They know it isn't true. Remember those kids in Jr High or Highschool that would make things up then spread it? They never grew up.