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The major problem with Prop 13 is that it included landlords in the tax protection. As an example, my landlady owns a building she paid less than $30,000 for 30 years ago, is currently assessed at about $66,000, and pays about $650 a year in property taxes. This is a 4 unit building in SF easily worth over $2 million (even in the wretched state she keeps it in). She collects at least $50,000 a year in rents. She could easily afford to pay more taxes. It's a crime that she isn't. I'm all for protecting families and especially the elderly from huge tax increases, but people who own property for profit and not for their own housing need to start paying up. They CAN afford it. If they can't, they can sell their buildings and choose a different line of work.