I thought it was interesting to see information about the states with the highest property tax rates.
Most all of the states ranked as the highest are blue states run by Democrats.
California ranks sixth, paying an average of $204,560 in lifetime property taxes. This is 74 percent higher than the national average. Think of all the retirement investments you could make with $204,560.
New Jersey residents pay the highest lifetime property taxes in America. With an average annual property tax of $9,163 and a life expectancy of 79, the typical homeowner will pay $375,683 over their lifetime. This is 220 percent higher than the national average of $117,346. With the median first-time homebuyer age in the U.S. at 38, the typical New Jersey homeowner pays this amount over 41 years.
Connecticut ranks second, paying an average of $261,908 in lifetime property taxes. The state also has a life expectancy of 79 years old. However, the average annual property tax amount is $6,388, paid over 41 years.
New York is in third place, with an average lifetime property tax amount of $259,325. The median house price in the state is $519,500. With an annual property tax rate of 1.22%, New York homeowners can expect to pay an average of $6,325 annually across 41 years.
New Hampshire ranks fourth, with an average lifetime property tax of $251,400. Homeowners in the state pay $6,285 annually on average across 40 years.
Massachusetts follows closely in fifth place. Homeowners in the state will pay an average of $5,821 annually across 41 years, bringing their lifetime property taxes to $238,661.
Alabama was found to have the lowest lifetime property taxes, with $786 annually expected to be paid across 34 years, bringing the average lifetime property taxes in the state to $26,724. This is 77 percent lower than the national average amount of $117,346. Which is why my father moved to the Huntsville area.
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I enjoy getting emails from the Assembly Republicans. The one sent out Dec. 20 was titled, “Sugarcoating the (emoji of turd here) Show: Team Newsom Would Rather Spin Problems than Solve Them.”
Here is how it read:
“It’s becoming a pattern with the Newsom administration –despite the governor failing to solve some of California’s biggest issues, his team is working overtime to gaslight Californians into thinking everything is going swimmingly.
“Under Newsom, homelessness has soared nearly 20 percent but his office thinks that’s a good thing.
“California’s population decreased for the first time and the state is expected to lose another four congressional seats in the next round of redistricting – but Team Newsom doesn’t seem concerned.
“Californians pay the second-highest gas prices in the country ($1.26 above the national average) thanks to Newsom’s taxes and mandates - and his administration is taking a victory lap (with no evidence to support their claims).
“Despite having, objectively, one of the worst records on jobs in the country, with recent growth confined to government and health care sectors, Newsom recently took the opportunity to boast about private-sector jobs.
“Days after Central Valley leaders slammed the Newsom administration for leaving their communities out of broadband expansion projects, Newsom’s comms team sent a release – you guessed it – bragging about broadband access.
“A safe rule of thumb is that any time Newsom celebrates an ‘achievement,’ there’s some bad news on that issue he’s trying to distract from.”
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I went looking to buy eggs at two stores on the day before Christmas and could not find any. Millions of laying hens are being exterminated because of the bird flu.
The day after Christmas I found one store near my house was selling organic brown eggs – I thought all eggs were organic – at $10.99 per dozen. No thanks.
If you listen to Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), Newsom is to blame. Macedo had this to say: “The governor has failed Californians once again. The Newsom Administration failed to enforce and fund basic standards to properly secure our borders at the state’s highways. Had the Newsom administration adequately funded inspection checkpoints for testing verification, vaccination records and branding paperwork – this bird flu may have been prevented.
“The governor chooses to fund special interest projects rather than protecting our farmers and farm workers. Farmers and their workers have suffered enough. The price of milk, dairy products and eggs have skyrocketed for consumers because of his inaction.”
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Is it a conspiracy theory to believe that there is growing government talk about the bird flu scare just as Donald Trump becomes president? I mean, the COVID pandemic certainly came along at the right time in 2020 to throw a monkey wrench into the presidential election. Why not another pandemic to thwart a Trump agenda to make sweeping changes the bureaucrats are fearful of?
CNN had on Dr. Debra Birx, formerly of the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator in 2020 last week talking about a new mutation in Louisiana. “We’re not testing enough, and we know from other viruses that a lot of the spread can be asymptomatic so we kind of have our head in the sand about how widespread this is … from the animal to human standpoint.”
She wants dairy farm workers tested weekly – especially in California.
Time will tell if this is another blown-out-of-proportion pandemic in the making during a second Trump presidency.
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Think back a couple of decades ago when a young hotshot mayor of San Francisco said he had brilliant plans to eliminate homeless from the streets there.
What happened was Gavin Newsom didn’t solve the problem, became governor and now the problem has spread to the rest of the state.
Celebrated California journalist Dan Walters recently blasted away at Newsom in a column printed in CalMatters. Walters wrote: “While seemingly taking personal responsibility for combating homelessness — and despite the state auditor’s criticism of his administration — Newsom has more recently blamed local governments for failing to spend state homelessness grants effectively, often threatening to cut off their money if they didn’t make a serious dent in the crisis.”
Walters ends the column with this: “Newsom’s governorship will end in two years, after which he will likely mount a campaign for president. It’s certain that California’s homelessness crisis will still be highly visible and a weapon for Newsom’s opponents.”
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Turlock is excited about getting a Chick-fil-A restaurant. I wonder if they dismissed any plans of opening up in Ceres first given how the mayor publicly threw a fit about Pollo Campero coming to Hatch Road and how that area had too many chicken restaurants. Elections have consequences, folks.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
