Readers React: Thank Howard Jarvis if you still live in a house bought years ago for $150,000

To the editor: In his column, “Can hard work and saving still buy you a house in Southern California?” Gustavo Arellano failed to mention one very big reason his parents have been successful at not only buying a home, but also keeping it: Proposition 13.

I bought my first home back in the 1970s. Making the payments was difficult enough, but it could be heart-stopping to open the annual property tax bill to see how much more I would have to pay each year, since tax bills were skyrocketing in the years leading up to Proposition 13.

The 1978 law gave stability and peace of mind to folks like the Arellanos and myself by keeping increases in property taxes level, manageable and predictable. I hope the Arellanos are as thankful for Howard Jarvis and his Proposition 13 as I am.

Allen Drucker, Newport Beach

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