State Tax Shift and Prop. 217

You defy common sense with your editorial of Oct. 24 recommending a no vote on Prop. 217. You agree that the state’s shift of property taxes away from counties, cities and special districts was wrong. However, opposing Prop. 217 won’t create any pressure on the Legislature and the governor to fix the problem they created.

You’re not being realistic to expect the Legislature and the governor to reverse the property tax shift on their own. Look at just one major fiscal dilemma facing the state: the classic choice of guns versus butter, or how to maintain funding for both prisons and education. State officials took local property taxes because of their needs and the fact that Prop. 13 lets them do it. Prop. 217 prevents any further transfers.

Now let’s talk about the income tax rates that Prop. 217 keeps in place and you believe are “unfair.” These rates have been in place almost continuously since 1973 and affect only people with taxable incomes in the six-digit range.

CLIFF CABALLERO

Valley Village