As a very concerned “retired senior” living in Santa Clarita — the North Valencia area to be exact — my wife and I try to keep abreast of the latest news entering our fair little valley because “things” are always changing here almost on a daily basis now, which is a lot different that how it was back in 1976 when we moved here. To be more precise, it’s the incredible change in the “cost of living” here and in California as a whole, plus the increase in all forms of taxes that has many of us “seniors” (and I’m sure just about everyone else living here too!) seriously concerned.
No, make that “scared to death” that at the rate our California politicians in our state capital in Sacramento have been making plans to “tax every living soul within an inch of their lives” in an attempt to gain more revenue for their greedy needs and desires that we citizens are going to be in a fight for our very existence trying to maintain our current lifestyle.
Does this sound a bit one-sided, maybe a bit harsh, well, how about, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not putting up with this political garbage” anymore!
My wife and I have just received a memo that stipulates that there is an Assembly Bill 736 being voted on that could allow cities to significantly increase transfer taxes when homeowners sell their properties. Ah yes, just what we need, more taxes, as if we are not taxed enough in California. Heaven help us all.
So let’s say on a medium priced California home, the sellers could be liable for an additional $13,000 to $27,000 in closing cost, which of course simply adds to the other (and many) forms of higher taxes that we Californians are now facing. Haven’t we been taxed enough in California? The fun just never stops here, does it? My wife and I retired over 25 years ago while living here in the Santa Clarita Valley, raised our three kids here, and until recently have not considered moving to another state, but … it seems clear to me, now more than ever for some of us senior citizens, planning to spend their “Golden Years” here and who’ve been retired for over 25 years that the monies and retirement plans that we found acceptable and doable “back in the day” are now barely capable of sustaining us as we approach our 80s!
So it’s not just us middle-class seniors who are contemplating moving out of California. There are those “well heeled” seniors out there who’ve been very fortunate over the years and have managed to actually make their current retirement work for them, and to those who’ve done that, more power to you! However, there are still those of us retirees who’ve seen our “nest egg” retirement funds depleted through no fault of our own, having to deal with not just higher taxes but with a whole bunch of “political nonsense” in this state, which I believe can be totally blamed on greedy politicians (so what else is new?) who have managed to bring this once thriving state to its knees.
When you’ve got so many big businesses leaving this state, and citizens by the hundred of thousands leaving this state, you can’t help but to put the blame on a faulty political system and let’s not forget those political heads who have misused, and abused funds that could have been used to bring new businesses and more folks into this state, instead of bailing out and heading to states like Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, just to name a few.
Oh well, sometimes I think politics and the weather share one common trait. You can talk about it all you want, but the odds that you can change it for your betterment are darn near impossible. Sometimes I swear you’ve got a better chance of the sun not rising in the east and setting in the west than finding an honest politician who can survive an honest election process and actually improve the state’s political well-being after taking office.
In closing: If you’re concerned about the looming Assembly Bill 736 and how it will affect many folks in California and of course the SCV, you might want to contact your California state senator and Assembly member ASAP, let them know of your concern and your position before the voting starts later this year.
AB 736 could possibly affect your home or business’ future sale and perhaps even a future real estate investment. I see AB 736 as another way of sucking the life blood out of every “middle class” Californian who has a lot to lose if things continue the way they are going, then again not so much the ultra rich and ultra poor who probably could care less what happens in Sacramento come this November.
In the meantime, I’m going to keep my eyes open for another place to roost, should the very worst happen and another politician get elected to office in Sacramento who has a “scarlet past” history and an assured “set up” future due to their political affiliation.
Not to sound political myself, but maybe it’s time that California changes from “Blue to Red” for a while because it’s pretty obvious that the current political system has, over the years, managed to totally screw this once amazing state over so badly that it’ll take a miracle to bring California back to the status it used to have when my parents moved out here in 1945 in search of a better life after World War II.
They say “hope springs eternal,” and so I “hope” (and pray to God) that a new political system can be voted in and implemented that can restore California to its once glorious status as a state that was a “paradise state,” a place to move to where you could become as successful as you might have dreamed on becoming, a state where you truly feel blessed to be living here with pride every morning when you wake up. It can be that way again, we just have to (legally) vote the right political organization into office come November and slowly but surely California can again be a state that you’ll say you’re proud to be living in.
Rich Lagrasta
Valencia
