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The debate over HH is really starting to heat up now, and while I am not going to pick a side just yet, I have an observation I would like to present to Polsters for their take.
I asked myself, “If HH passes, who wins the most and who wins the least”? Following JIDs’ figuring, I am comparing those who do NOT own their domicile as opposed to those who do.
Who are the largest private property owners in the state? Some of the largest of which I am aware are the collective fossil fuel industry…billionaire ranchers…Big Ag…etc. These are the entities who will most profit.
A significant number of Coloradans don’t own a home and are on fixed or severely challenged incomes. I see no benefit at all for those folks. On the other hand, that first group closely resembles the governors’ friends and business associates. The 17th Street Bunch, if you will.
If I have overlooked some fact or other, I am surely looking to be informed.
Renters do in fact pay property taxes.
That is, renters pay their landlords who pay the taxes. If HH succeeds and property taxes go down, then you can then ask whether the landlords will pocket the profits or not raise rents.
Also if property taxes are lowered, then owning a house has lower costs, so buying becomes more competitive with renting. (Yeah not all that much, but in the economy, it's about every little thing.).
I think schools funding should be set at the state level. And I also believe that we should have a combination of property, sales, capital gains and progressive income taxes so that everyone pays a fair share. Is that being a Socialist?
"you can then ask whether the landlords will pocket the profits or not raise rents"
Human nature being what it is, my guess is that they pocket the profits.
I'm still considering my vote on HH. One factor nudging me toward "Yes" is Doug Bruce pitching an absolute hissy fit over it. Anything Bruce hates that much can't be all bad.
My thinking, too!
A couple things regarding renters. First, the landlords will get some property tax relief, but my cynical human nature guess is that some landlords will still just set rental rates at whatever the market will bear anyway, while maybe some will "pencil out" property tax relief as a way to keep renters' rates from increasing as much.
Second, under HH property tax rates for "nonprimary" residential properties will get less of a reduction after 2025 than for primary residences. Someone smarter than me (room full of monkeys with typewriters, for example) can figure out what that really means for renters.
Third, the legislature can set TABOR refund amounts. If there are TABOR refunds in future years, I'd like to hope the lege could invent some sort of "renter's factor" that might help a little.
I think it’s understood who the largest property owners are. Not every farmer or rancher is a billionaire. The 1% are at the top of the pyramid of “rural” property owners.
The media is full these days of stories about the difficulties getting financing for a home, or renters, some living on the edge of eviction. What one seldom hears about is a possibly vast number; I would think; of “lesser” property owners who own their own homes. Some of those homes are owned free and clear. Others are owned, but with mortgages in the 2-5% interest range, and payments.
Then there are those who may own their homes, even free and clear, but are on fixed incomes. The sometimes called “cash poor and property rich” group, which would be penalized by an increase in property taxes if HH doesn’t pass.
Housing is a complex issue worth discussing, but it won’t be solved here. FWIW, I voted for both HH and the “pot” proposal.
Amidst all the facts and counter-facts, these points are worthwhile.
The one group you failed to mention are non-property owning, fixed-income, retirees. The man who helps me with my taxes tells me of myriad cases of seniors who have only their social security benefit for income. He said he was astonished by the sheer number of such cases. These citizens are struggling to survive, at best. The TABOR refund is a significant boost for those who count every penny, every month. Reducing it significantly in order to ease the tax burden on landlords isn't likely to get them on board.
Citizens are rightly concerned about the ACTUAL effects of HH. Who is it they are supposed to trust?
Of course, Captain Obvious, not every rancher and OilyBoy is a billionaire. But enough of them are to push legislation to cut themselves a break at the expense of the little guy.
Really Positive news on Colorado's Clean Energy Future. From the Colorado Sun.
Purchases of electric cars are about to reach the tipping point. My prediction is that consumers swing massively in 2025.
(1) Solar installations will pressure prices during peak sun and off-peak residential usage. Some are even saying NEGATIVE electric prices – you'll be paid to charge your batteries during the day.
(2) All mainstream car companies now have electric offerings in their mid and top range models. SOME (Hyundai/Kia/Genesis & Tesla) electric platforms are now ground-up designs rather than simply adding electric to existing platforms.
(3) Battery availability and price are improving year-by-year.
(4) Not to mention the Democrats' & Colorado's tax credits!
I looked at Consumer Reports and found highly rated available models in mid-range Hyundai, BMW and VW, priced from $45 – $65K. Not for average working stiffs, but that demonstrates that the marketing geniuses are targeting the high-value, upper middle-class segment of the market.
After my little Chevy Spark got t-boned by a distracted driver recently ( I'm fine – Chevy builds solid cars), I financed a used Chevy all – electric Bolt.
I love the car , but it's a different kind of driving experience. You're always thinking, " Do I really need to make that trip?" and " Am I going to be able to charge my battery nearby?"
I'm always watching the energy "flow" from or to the Bolt batteries, depending on how I drive. It's totally silent, so when other people's rides are noisy, I notice. And there is positive and negative feedback from other drivers – It's the first time I got "smoked" by someone trying to make a political statement by blowing exhaust all over the neighborhood.
Above all, I can drive and feel good about my zero emissions while everyone else is warming the planet and contributing to the brown cloud.
I've come to the conclusion that Elon Musk is a truly evil person – Tesla has paid for all kinds of charging stations…..which only fit Teslas. Tesla claims that they have "set the standard" for plug configurations, which all other hybrid or all-electric vehicles should emulate. Tesla also sells a very expensive adapter, which allows Bolts , Nissans and other EVs to use Tesla charging stations. To see the variety of charging stations available in the Denver Metro area, I use ChargeHub.
EVs are part of the solution to climate change, and they should be made easier for everyone to drive by improving and standardizing the public charging available.
1. We never watch the energy flow anymore. We did for the first month. Now, we just check to see if the battery is down to 30% when we will recharge to 80%.
2. "The North American Charging Standard (NACS), currently being standardized as SAE J3400 and also known as the Tesla charging standard" makes the whole Tesla evil argument moot. )Elmo is still evil as a person.)
Sure, if I want to pay Tesla $200 for an adapter so I can plug in to their stations, the charging standards are awesome. Tesla is still calling the shots on what is a "standard" plug configuration, and all other brands and owners of other brand EVs have to suck it up and pay up for the adapter.
I notice Chargepoint (J1772) is the standard at public building (parks and libraries) EV chargers. Verdict on Elmo: Still evil across the board.
Kwtree — first, I totally agree Musk is evil. But you chose well with the Bolt. Every Bolt owner I’ve met (including the sister of my best friend) absolutely love theirs. It has CCS1 DC charging that unfortunately has a bad rep due to poor availability and inconsistent charging speeds for some EVs (irrelevant for your Bolt). But if you find a couple of dependable DC charging stations within your orbit, your Bolt will be fine. Typical J1772 charging stations can add about 10-20 miles per hour, as you’ve probably already figured out. Be careful if you charge with a 120v outlet at home. Check the fuse to see what amperage it is, and what, if any other devices it is shared with. Also, use a good extension cord that can handle at least 20 amps.
The big deal with almost every auto manufacturer adopting the Tesla (now NACS) port as a standard was not just of availability and reliability. By design, it is much cheaper for the manufacturer to install in a vehicle, smaller, lighter and easier to use that the clumsy CCS1. The charging stations cost only about $100,000 per unit vs. about $400,000 from the 3rd party charger manufacturers, so more stations can be installed for any given investment of private and public dollars.
But the best news is I don’t believe you have to pay Tesla for an adapter should you choose to use one of their chargers. All the auto manufacturers will be supplying their own NACS adapters for their respective EVs. I only hesitate to guarantee that for the Bolt because GM is sunsetting that model. Also, PlugShare is great for finding compatible charging stations. You can filter by plug type. And A Better Route Planner can help calculate when and where you need to charge on longer drives.
Enjoy your EV — I’ll never go back to ICE 🙂
harry d: First , thanks for your thoughtful reply.
A few corrections:
Chevy isn't sunsetting the Bolt. The battery issues have been corrected.
The Bolt's J1772 charger isn't compatible with CCS1, so your comparison is moot as far as I'm concerned.
Teslas can adapt to the J1772, but J1772 can't adapt to Tesla chargers without buying an adapter. There's plenty of bugs to work out, including cable length, car programming, etc. FWIW, Nissan and Leaf plug configurations don't fit the Bolt, either.
I still don't want to overpay Tesla for an adapter just so my car can charge at their "standard" station. It would be like if you had to put a special gizmo on your car to fuel up depending on which gas station you went to.
It's worth standardizing charging stations, but Musk shouldn't be the one to dictate what is the "standard" that all other EV drivers must adapt to.
Ok, I’m sorry for misunderstanding. When you mentioned the $200 Tesla adapter, I assumed you meant your Bolt had a CCS1 charging port. Not all of them do. If yours lacks a CCS1 port, then it would be pointless for you to purchase any adaptor if all you have is a J1772 port. That means your Bolt does not support DC fast charging so Tesla superchargers are also of no use to you.
J1772 is a 120v (L1) and 240v (L2) A/C charging standard. The Tesla and other auto manufacturers’ adapter (going for roughly $200) is only for 400v and above DC Fast Charging (DCFC). Unlike Tesla’s all-purpose (AC/DC) interface, J1772 and CCS1 are two different plugs.
While I have a Tesla to J1772 adapter (free with every purchase 😉 , I’m honestly not aware of any J1772 to Tesla adapters because L2 Tesla destination chargers are still pretty rare (some hotels offer them as an amenity for customers). It’s their L3 DCFC stations that dominate the market.
(In fact, if someone did make a J1772 to Tesla adaptor, I can not imagine the damage that might cause if someone plugged into a Supercharger believing it would work!)
While GM has smartly decided to revive the Bolt nameplate for the 2025 model year, it will be a completely new vehicle based on their latest Ultium platform and battery technology, sharing nothing with the current Bolt. It will presumably have a NACS port as standard equipment.
Sorry for being overly pedantic on a political site, but others might be interested in some of the technical details.
I can't imagine what that adapter would cost if it came from Mercedes or Apple!
Frankly, it is to be expected that standards for chargers, batteries, adapters, etc would go through some growing pains. When I get an electric car, I'll also have to invest in $200 or so of electrician time to install a 240V outlet by my garage.
Exactly. The incentives from both utility companies and the government can really lower the cost of installing a 240v dedicated outlet in your garage. Eventually, not only single family homes will come equipped with integrated EV charging, but apartments and other multifamily properties will have that capability as well.
And to be specific, the tax credits particularly beginning in 2024 are stunning. And note that participating car dealers are or will be able to access the credits directly for you and reduce the vehicle price out the door:
* Federal credit (for federal-eligible vehicles): $7,500
* State credit: $5,000 (no qualifiers)
* Additional state credit for vehicles MSRP up to $35,000: $2,500
* Additional state credit for trade-in of vehicles 12 years or older if income-qualified (below 80% of AMI in your county): $6,000
Experts: If I have any of this wrong, please correct!
Which is why market value of our 2022 VW ID.4 (no federal tax credit, only state credit of $2500) has dropped like a stone.
Purchase price in November 2022 after Colorado tax credit was $49K (plus taxes). Current value is $33K less than 1 year later.
That's good to know. For now, we'll stick with our Prius. We got a good enough deal on it that the insurance paid for the whole thing after our little Honda got smunched.
Good move. I'll stick with my 2006 Nissan Xterra, bought in mid-December, 2006 and still running fine after a bit over 201,000 miles.
What I wonder about HH: if the fat cats want it so much, why is Americans for Prosperity papering our mailbox and saturating the air waves with ads against it?
I think because it is another way of getting around Tabor? Either that, or nanny nanny boo boo, Democrats are for it so I'm against it !
C-SPAN has the Colorado 14th amendment case
https://www.c-span.org/video/?531545-1/president-trump-14th-amendment-hearing-colorado-day-3-part-1
The law professor, Gerard Magliocca, who is arguing for the 14th amendment clause looks like a Harry Potter villain; however, he seems to know his stuff, and is strengthening plaintiff arguments that Trump engaged in insurrection and is therefore ineligible to serve.
He's a goofy looking well spoken well informed constitutional and history expert that informed the court well today.