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Booger says

Patrick says

Today's Palo Alto Daily:

I bet this guy pays a lot in income taxes to the state of CA. Probably enough to justify another state tax increase just from him leaving.

I bet he pays 0 income taxes and simply borrows against his stonks to cover his expenses.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/golden-geese-tuesday-january-13-2026

The New York Times ran the story this morning below the headline, “Gavin Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California.” Too little, too late.

The Golden State’s governor is wondering how you spell the word backfire. “Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed on Monday to stop a proposed wealth tax in California,” the Times reported, “saying that its mere introduction had already hurt the state by driving some billionaires to relocate and take their tax dollars with them.”

The first problem is that the potential ballot initiative is a trap. If it passes, it would be retroactive to January 1st of this year. It is also confiscatory. “The initiative,” the article explained, “would require Californians with a net worth beyond $1 billion to pay a one-time tax equal to 5 percent of their assets.” That comes to $50 million in tax per billion in total wealth (not income), on top of state income taxes (13.5%) plus any other taxes. Let the rich people pay for everything!

The second problem is, until now, Governor Newsom hasn’t publicly opposed the ballot initiative. Oh, he says he has. “Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said in an interview with The New York Times that he had been relentlessly working behind the scenes against the proposal.”

Too bad he didn’t slither out from behind the scenes until now. Until quite recently, California held the record, being home to about 200 billionaires. That has recently and dramatically changed. Nor is it clear what Newsom can do. He can’t veto a ballot initiative that seeks to amend the state’s constitution. If it reaches the ballot, billionaires will be at the mercy of California voters, who may not take the broad view. They might say meh, what’s 5% to a billionaire?

Many billionaires didn’t wait around to find out how this Old West train robbery story will play out. With a retroactive deadline rushing at them like a locomotive filled with financial gunslingers, they got out of Dodge. According to an estimate from tech billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, half of California’s billionaire wealth hastily evacuated before the January 1st deadline...

The CEOs of Netflix, Google, WhatsApp, and Stripe were all mentioned as shopping for ultra-luxury properties in swanky South Florida.

There’s so much that could be said about this California capital flight and the confiscatory tax proposal. Nobody sane believes that, if this works, California will be satisfied with milking the billionaires. Please. Have we learned nothing? It’s the same way they pushed the income tax through. It’s just on rich people, not you, no, never; and it’s only for two weeks, to slow the spread of the financial problem. Meaning, the next ten thousand years. Hope you like all the forms! Wheeeeeeeeeee

Point 1. The Democrats are destroying themselves. You can’t make this stuff up. California is a lovely state and home to many good, not-crazy conservatives. Fix voting fraud, and things might be a whole lot different. But in the meantime, it’s a uniparty catastrophe, and the nation’s progressive heart and soul. First they drove out Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and most productive entrepreneur, with stupid pandemic policies and history’s single most destructive tweet. Incredibly self-destructive.

Now they’re going after all the rest of their billionaires. “California’s state budget,” the Times explained, “relies heavily on high earners, who, under the state’s progressive tax structure, pay most of the state’s income taxes.” I’m reminded of that old gag about the goose and a gold omelet or something. How does it go again? Something about murdering the poor fellow?

Modern Democrats don’t learn nursery rhymes because they are racist and patriarchal, so the analogy is lost on them.

The only way I can explain California’s unbelievable commitment to self-destruction is that, maybe, the Democrats are finally paying the price for their unreasoning commitments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Their groups (like the unions) leaders and their local officials are all midwits and low-lights who never accomplished anything themselves, and who consider “accomplishment” to be something other people are forced to give you as compensation for your own victimized incompetence. It’s not our fault; it’s their fault! Get their stuff!

Point 2. The struggle highlights the Democrats’ intra-party schism. I’ve opined recently about how Trump’s adversaries are leaderless and fractured. This morning the Times proved it, explaining how Newsom and his allies are fighting against the unions and the far-left groups pushing the billionaire tax initiative. The Times spun it as burnishing Newsom’s centrist bona fides, but the truth is that centrist Democrats are battling the party’s own progressives. ...

You can add the West Coast’s billionaire tax initiative to the East Coast’s election of a socialist mayor for New York City. It’s like some kind of progressive Hunger Games has begun. The golden geese are coming home to roost, and the natives are eating them up faster than hungry Haitians at a city park.

Didn't France try this not long ago only to quickly scuttle the whole thing?

Eric_Holder says

Didn't France try this not long ago only to quickly scuttle the whole thing?

Sweden too.

Fraud in Minnesota ???

How about California. The report in today was for $250 billion or about the entire GDP of Nigeria.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-accused-of-losing-250-billion-to-fraud-in-largest-state-scandal-ever/ss-AA1U93MS?pc=HCTS

... and they say it like it's a bad thing.

Patrick says

Today's Palo Alto Daily:

That is just optics for public consumption out of a call very likely from a republican politician part of soft kickback.
Irrespective of where these people live, their tax bracket is always lower.
He continues run his same online meetings from “FL” instead of “Palo Alto, CA” for some time while the accounts get adjusted!

Misc says

Fraud in Minnesota ???

How about California. The report in today was for $250 billion or about the entire GDP of Nigeria.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-accused-of-losing-250-billion-to-fraud-in-largest-state-scandal-ever/ss-AA1U93MS?pc=HCTS

... and they say it like it's a bad thing.

California is famous for paying a billion in unemployment bennies to prison inmates in just five months of 2020.

Misc says

How about California. The report in today was for $250 billion or about the entire GDP of Nigeria.

They don't say what time frame that is. Every year?

Brave AI:

The California state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, totals $348.9 billion

Anyway, $250 billion among the state's ~40 million people is $6,250 taken in fraud from every single resident, including babies.

Booger says

Patrick says

Today's Palo Alto Daily:

I bet this guy pays a lot in income taxes to the state of CA. Probably enough to justify another state tax increase just from him leaving.

Now opportunity to buy multimillion dollars mansions at discount. Wait... do I need to be another billionaire to buy?