First of all, congratulations to Lola. Lola, my beautiful Scottie bitch who makes gorgeous puppies, whelped NATURALLY her second litter. Four healthy puppies, 3 males and 1 female. Pictures will be shared as this journey continues. Huge shout out of gratitude to my mentors - Joann Stitz, Adrian and Nicole of Tango Kennels and Danica Garside of J'Mar Scotties and the San Francisco Bay Scottish Terrier Club. All of them have walked with me on this amazing journey and helped me learn how to bring healthy Scottish Terrier puppies into this world of ours. I hope our collaborations continue for a long, long time. These people are fundamental to my learning more and more and more......thank you.
Now then, let's talk about the Bee that is in my bonnet right now.
As you all know I belong to a third party political organization - American Solidarity Party. We are SUPPOSED to be a Pro Life for the Whole Life political group, a party for those pushed out of the two mainstream parties because both sides went kattywampus. We are not a religious movement but we are grounded in basic Catholic Social Doctrine. We would like to see abortion eradicated, for instance, but some of us would like to see it eradicated because society has advanced and there is no longer a need for it. If, however, you are stuck in the 'It's my body" argument then let's put appropriate restrictions in place so we are not killing viable human beings, make contraception that is not dangerous to women available and otherwise prosecute those who impose their will on females using sexual battery. In other words, people like me see the pro life movement as one that pushes for funding in social services and science and education so a young woman or family faced with a decision that, in the past, would seem to hold the killing of their unborn child as the only solution are given a chance to make a REAL decision in a timely manner. Afraid you don't have money for medical, housing or education if you 'have that baby"? Afraid that the child in the womb is less than 'perfect'? Is that child the wrong sex and your culture would reject it? Let the government support services and medical research that helps you keep your child at LEAST until it is born and then help you decide if you can raise that baby or need help finding people who will.
However, we are not supposed to focus solely on the human in the womb. We are supposed to be pro life for EVERYONE - including those of us now entering into a different phase of life.
What phase is that? You know - we woke up yesterday and suddenly we are old.
My late mother (who died at 98 and outlived her insurance policy) used to warn me about becoming invisible. People will look at you in line at the grocery store and answer your questions without looking you in the eye or will check to see if some young caretaker is with you. I saw it happen to her and would purposefully redirect people to HER when they tried to include me in her conversation. It hasn't happened to me yet, though people are starting to smile at me in a condescending manner when I ask a question.
I don't have anyone going with me to the store. No caretaker yet. They HAVE to talk to me.
However, I got slapped in the face with a different kind of discrimination - someone from my own party referenced me as a 'widow getting wealthy without working' because the value of my tiny home is going up and Prop 13 in California allows me to be protected from soaring taxes.
Wow - 30 years of government service dismissed. Five additional years of working at a Catholic Parish, dismissed! Working for a paycheck since the age of 14 every summer, dismissed. Getting through college and paying my own student loans off? Dismissed. Working NOW in order to do extra stuff in my life - dismissed. Apparently, I am now a parasite and not contributing to the common good because the people of California passed a law that protects me from having to move to another state when I am 70 or older.
What is Proposition 13?
Approved in 1978, it changed how property taxes were calculated. You want to know why? Because in the 1970's values were soaring in California and people like my mother - a single woman raising two children on her own - were being priced out of the home they had purchased. They were not losing that property because they were lazy, had bought out of their price range, were not budgeting, were not working and contributing to the world. NOPE - because some arbitrary price index decided that the little house they had purchased in the 1950's for 11k was now worth 100k. Of course, if they had sold it, they would not have been able to purchase anything equivalent to where they were living. Nope, to reap this wealth would have meant uprooting their children and moving into an even smaller home in a less desirable area and starting over, until THAT area became too 'valuable'. (Sidenote, when she moved from the Bay Area to Modesto in the late 1990's she was allowed to apply Prop 13 to her purchase one time. When we listed my childhood home, it listed for $375k - a crazy high sum. Mama turned to me and said, "Gee. I always wanted to live in a home worth $375k. All I had to do was buy it in 1954 and then sell it in 1998 for that to happen.")
What does Proposition 13 do?
It caps the base property tax rate at 1% of the property's assessed value and limits the increase annually to no more than 2% each year UNLESS the property changes ownership. In our case, my mother protected the transfer of the property to me so that I can remain here, pay the taxes every year and leave it to my nephew when I die. When the property is sold, the property value will skyrocket.
The Focus of Anger
Critics have argued that Proposition 13 has reduced the source of local revenue for schools, cities and counties. They also argue that it creates unequal tax burdens because two similar properties can be taxed differently depending upon who owns them. My particular favorite objection from these critics? It discourages people like me from moving because if we sell our property and move, the new property will be assessed under higher tax values.
Seriously? Are you kidding? How DARE I remain in my own home until I cannot and THEN sell it for the money I may need to finance me in a memory care facility that costs 10k a month?
You know what really shocks me? These young people who care passionately about abortion see me as someone who can just adjust my life and go away - I am getting wealthy by not working because I won't leave the home my mother and I worked hard to hold onto and that, today, I scratch and budget in order to maintain. If I have to move to another state to live, according to them, then I should. Forget that I am now elderly and my support system is here. Too bad. I am getting wealthy without working and should be punished.
NONE of them do what I am doing which is ask our government officials to stop wasting money. None of them say, "What do you mean you need MORE tax revenue? What the heck are you doing with the money we are giving you - from the lotto, for instance? And hey, buster brown, exactly what is driving this sudden uptick in property values and how can THAT be addressed, Mr. I Work For Stanford Because I Couldn't Get Hired By Cal?" Okay well that last part is my own prejudice - Go Bears.
I was very insulted - yes I was - but more than that I was shocked. I was shocked by how I was categorized by this young man. It gave me insight into how he resents people like me - the ones who worked their butts off and still do but have committed a crime of living too damn long. It gave me insight into how HE believe we should live out our remaining years - not in a neighborhood, contributing to the common good by our very presence and participation. Nope, we need to move somewhere else and get OUT of the way.
The challenge in my mind is this: how do we as a society address the manner in which our government is spending our money AND stop this rising cost of existing? What are we willing to look at, to say is not needed, to do together so that we have a balanced group to raise our children? No child should never see someone on a walker except in a nursing home, rather they should see Mr. Smith walking his dog while using his scooter, or be willing to do yard chores for old Miss Margo while she watches and makes sure they have water on a hot day. We - all of us - need to be a part of the mainstream of life.
Now, get to work....and get off my lawn.
