Prop. 13 and government power

Re “Government by bake sale,” Opinion, May 13

Ezra Klein takes a whack at Proposition 13, saying it has deprived government of revenues needed for basic services.

We know that Proposition 13 is to a big spender like sunlight is to a vampire, but this is just nonsense. Repeated studies have shown that after adjusting for inflation and population growth, all levels of government have more money than they did before the passage of Proposition 13. California already ranks in the top 10 states in per capita taxation, and we support, according to the U.S. census, the highest-paid state employees in the nation.

There is plenty of money to provide essential services while continuing the protections that Proposition 13 provides. We already have given bigger government a chance, and it has shown itself to be wholly inept with our money.

JON COUPAL

President

Howard Jarvis

Taxpayers Assn.

Sacramento

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Thanks to Klein for pointing out this deception that conservative “privatizers” have been foisting on us for decades: Under-fund, mismanage and defang all government agencies and use their predictable failures as evidence that everything should be privatized.

They love to claim that private systems offer more freedom. Many Americans, however, do not consider consumer freedom anywhere near as important as political freedom; and political freedom -- having a voice in your own democratic government -- means nothing if that government lacks the power to effect any change.

ANDREW MATTHEWS

Los Angeles