"The billionaires are pushing a narrative that the state’s wealthiest residents and their innovative businesses could leave California if the ballot measure passes."
So what? They're a bunch of parasites. What economic benefit do they offer Californians? They're the takers and they suck the economic benefits out of the state. What good do they provide, is it the gardeners, housekeepers, and servants at their lavish estates? A few offices filled with coders? Those lower level folks won't want to move to some Red State shithole like Texas or Tennessee.
The United States has seen massive improvements in productivity over the last decades, and the workers got none of the benefits. Their wages are stagnant, and all of the riches went straight to the top.
That's how we got this unprecedented wealth gap, as the rich preyed on the workers. There is class warfare happening in our country, and as Warren Buffet said, "Our side has won."
The threat of leaving CA that billionaires are wielding has to do with job losses. Ellison threatened to take his business to TN (no state income tax) if the communications industry merger is not approved. Nobody cares where the Ellisons themselves live but moving jobs is another matter. Perhaps it would be for the best if the tech bros took their jobs elsewhere. Home prices would fall and folks who cant afford to live near good neighborhoods might get a break.
Yes, but then they have to factor in the available labor pools elsewhere, the amenities for businesses offered elsewhere, etc. *And they can already do that,* if it’s smart business.
Exactly. They already don’t pay taxes, so it’s not like this causes a revenue issue. And if they think their businesses themselves would do better in another state, they are already free to move the businesses there. Their threats are meaningless.
I live in what you call a "Red State shithole," meaning Texas, and hope it changes back to blue, but it is not yet a "shithole" so watch it pottymouth.
The Sixteenth Amendment ratified in 1913 allowed tax to be collected based on income and shifted taxes away from consumer tariffs, lowering the cost of everyday goods for everyone. It allowed a continual stream of money to be directed towards public projects and infrastructure and helped fund WWI. It was very much opposed by the robber barons of the gilded age, but was passed regardless. It is how our modern government was funded and I can't help but see the actions of Trumps and his cronies as a return to excluding any tax for the wealthy, while they exploit and plunder this country with unfettered greed. We are heading backwards in that respect and allowing the rich in this country to be excluded from paying their share of taxes will return us to a time where everyone struggled with everyday costs, while the wealthy lived their lives of excess and extravagance. The income disparity is rising daily, and most Americans are feeling the stress of all of this. We are living with oligarchy running this country, and are reaping the damage that occurs when this happens.
Stupid negotiation on the Paramount deal. BS reason to have caved. They act as though it would have been easy to relocate Hollywood to a red state hellhole. Re: the Prop 40 tax, why on earth would we care where these billionaires live? They have had a free ride on taxpayer-funded infrastructure and government contracts and they themselves contribute nothing to the well-being of citizens. They could not care less about people. Competing to see who is richest is what matters to them and controlling the government so that all policies are in their favor is their goal.
When the wealth tax was proposed a decade ago, nobody could communicate that there was already a wealth tax -- on You -- the 3% of every dollar you spend that goes to the savings of the wealthy and never comes back. It just props up the stock market, hedge funds and REITs.
40 years ago the tax on income over $1M went from 70% to 40%, meaning the return on income over $1M *doubled* from 30% to 60%. You don't have to imagine what the compound interest on that extra money looks like over 40 years, we're living it. And, being Americans, the beneficiaries think they "earned" it and the rest of us let them.
States are now trying to fix a federal problem. We proved 100 years ago that progressive taxation works and laissez-faire capitalism does not. Hopefully someday soon politicians will be able to understand and articulate that.
I am a bit torn on how to vote on Prop 40. I fully support a wealth tax on billionaires but it needs to be a National tax to remove the threat of moving to a different state. I will definitely vote no on propositions 41 and 42 as they are funded by the rich to try and block future decisions on increasing tax rates. I am leaning towards voting for prop 40.
I would be an ardent supporter of legislation to repeal prop 13, which gave massive tax breaks to homeowners. That was the proposition capped property tax rates, supposedly to help old ladies to sell their homes without paying increased property taxes on their new homes. Now people who support this idea want to extend it to their children so that there are two classes of home owner, one whose families are grandfathered in at perpetually lower property tax rates while the rest of the people pay the usual rates. Home values have skyrocketed. Sell your home and then pay property taxes like everyone else on new home or rent.
Prop 13 was implemented in the stupidest way possible. The reason for it, which makes sense, was to allow older homeowners on fixed incomes to be able to afford to live in their rapidly appreciating homes. I think this was good policy. The implementation was totally stupid - it should have been a property tax deferral which would be paid off when the property changes hands - whether through a sale or inheritance; after all, the very situation that created it, means that there was a huge increase in equity that should be used to pay it off. As it stands now, new homeowners have to pay a huge amount in property tax to make up for this benefit. Shameful.
The worst part of Prop 13 is that corporations never die. The tax rate on them remains the same regardless of how many times it gets sold. It only goes up by the same percentage that residential property goes up, which is capped at 2% annually.
this article fails to mention that the billionaires throwing millions of dollars to defeat prop 40 have created two further propositions that would invalidate prop 40 even if it passes. Prop 41 and prop 42 will specifically negate prop 40 if either one of them passes, so please, if you're a Californian remember it's yes on prop 40 and no on prop 41 and prop 42. Thank you.
I think progressive income tax rates are the way to go but it would need to include taxing the money from loans millionaires and billionaires borrow which must be defined as a form of income.
They are going to duck and dodge and find new loopholes, and I don't believe Congress is capable of not leaving them some. So it won't be accomplished the first time around, or even the second, but it's something that we have to do.
You randomly throw out that the democratic leadership is against this tax. Then the only people you refer to are Newsom and Becerra. Newsom is a pretend democrat. He loves the rich and wants to be among them. He has no backbone except when he comes up with comments he makes about T. As for Becerra, it appears he wants a tax on the rich - just not this one. I'm hoping the voters agree with the taxes on the billionaires.
I agree with the argument that this taxation needs to be done at the federal level, not the state. However, no American likes paying higher taxes no matter the income level. 5% is too high. Lower it to 1%. That will still generate a good chunk of money for government to fund social programs.
The fact that most of those with way too much money do not even want to contribute a small fraction through taxation says all you need to know about these kind of people. Any politician fighting this tax is nothing but a paid lackey to these über rich.
And if the US tries to raise taxes on the wealthy, I suppose they will threaten to leave the US too. In which case, we will have to use our market power to strip them of their wealth. They will ultimately lose which is why they are so dead set on scaring us into submission. The thing is, we can take a lot more from them and they'll STILL be unbelievably rich.
"The billionaires are pushing a narrative that the state’s wealthiest residents and their innovative businesses could leave California if the ballot measure passes."
So what? They're a bunch of parasites. What economic benefit do they offer Californians? They're the takers and they suck the economic benefits out of the state. What good do they provide, is it the gardeners, housekeepers, and servants at their lavish estates? A few offices filled with coders? Those lower level folks won't want to move to some Red State shithole like Texas or Tennessee.
The United States has seen massive improvements in productivity over the last decades, and the workers got none of the benefits. Their wages are stagnant, and all of the riches went straight to the top.
That's how we got this unprecedented wealth gap, as the rich preyed on the workers. There is class warfare happening in our country, and as Warren Buffet said, "Our side has won."
Or, as Jimmy Buffet said, "We come from a long line of lenders/
Who get rich just exploiting you spenders"
The threat of leaving CA that billionaires are wielding has to do with job losses. Ellison threatened to take his business to TN (no state income tax) if the communications industry merger is not approved. Nobody cares where the Ellisons themselves live but moving jobs is another matter. Perhaps it would be for the best if the tech bros took their jobs elsewhere. Home prices would fall and folks who cant afford to live near good neighborhoods might get a break.
Yes, but then they have to factor in the available labor pools elsewhere, the amenities for businesses offered elsewhere, etc. *And they can already do that,* if it’s smart business.
Amen, Tim. I am a retired Californian and gladly voted YES on Prop. 40.
Exactly. They already don’t pay taxes, so it’s not like this causes a revenue issue. And if they think their businesses themselves would do better in another state, they are already free to move the businesses there. Their threats are meaningless.
I live in what you call a "Red State shithole," meaning Texas, and hope it changes back to blue, but it is not yet a "shithole" so watch it pottymouth.
The Sixteenth Amendment ratified in 1913 allowed tax to be collected based on income and shifted taxes away from consumer tariffs, lowering the cost of everyday goods for everyone. It allowed a continual stream of money to be directed towards public projects and infrastructure and helped fund WWI. It was very much opposed by the robber barons of the gilded age, but was passed regardless. It is how our modern government was funded and I can't help but see the actions of Trumps and his cronies as a return to excluding any tax for the wealthy, while they exploit and plunder this country with unfettered greed. We are heading backwards in that respect and allowing the rich in this country to be excluded from paying their share of taxes will return us to a time where everyone struggled with everyday costs, while the wealthy lived their lives of excess and extravagance. The income disparity is rising daily, and most Americans are feeling the stress of all of this. We are living with oligarchy running this country, and are reaping the damage that occurs when this happens.
I agree 100%!!
Stupid negotiation on the Paramount deal. BS reason to have caved. They act as though it would have been easy to relocate Hollywood to a red state hellhole. Re: the Prop 40 tax, why on earth would we care where these billionaires live? They have had a free ride on taxpayer-funded infrastructure and government contracts and they themselves contribute nothing to the well-being of citizens. They could not care less about people. Competing to see who is richest is what matters to them and controlling the government so that all policies are in their favor is their goal.
When the wealth tax was proposed a decade ago, nobody could communicate that there was already a wealth tax -- on You -- the 3% of every dollar you spend that goes to the savings of the wealthy and never comes back. It just props up the stock market, hedge funds and REITs.
40 years ago the tax on income over $1M went from 70% to 40%, meaning the return on income over $1M *doubled* from 30% to 60%. You don't have to imagine what the compound interest on that extra money looks like over 40 years, we're living it. And, being Americans, the beneficiaries think they "earned" it and the rest of us let them.
States are now trying to fix a federal problem. We proved 100 years ago that progressive taxation works and laissez-faire capitalism does not. Hopefully someday soon politicians will be able to understand and articulate that.
How this splinters anyone beyond rich from poor is beyond me. How many trillionaires do y'all want to live among--er, in the shadow of?
None, thank you. Nobody should be trusted with so much power. We will NEVER rein in corruption while oligarchs are in charge.
Under the bootheel of, more like.
Any dem leader against it needs to be an X -dem leader
I am a bit torn on how to vote on Prop 40. I fully support a wealth tax on billionaires but it needs to be a National tax to remove the threat of moving to a different state. I will definitely vote no on propositions 41 and 42 as they are funded by the rich to try and block future decisions on increasing tax rates. I am leaning towards voting for prop 40.
I would be an ardent supporter of legislation to repeal prop 13, which gave massive tax breaks to homeowners. That was the proposition capped property tax rates, supposedly to help old ladies to sell their homes without paying increased property taxes on their new homes. Now people who support this idea want to extend it to their children so that there are two classes of home owner, one whose families are grandfathered in at perpetually lower property tax rates while the rest of the people pay the usual rates. Home values have skyrocketed. Sell your home and then pay property taxes like everyone else on new home or rent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13
These cut-and-run bastards will move to another state for another reason whenever they want. TAX THEM!
Prop 13 was implemented in the stupidest way possible. The reason for it, which makes sense, was to allow older homeowners on fixed incomes to be able to afford to live in their rapidly appreciating homes. I think this was good policy. The implementation was totally stupid - it should have been a property tax deferral which would be paid off when the property changes hands - whether through a sale or inheritance; after all, the very situation that created it, means that there was a huge increase in equity that should be used to pay it off. As it stands now, new homeowners have to pay a huge amount in property tax to make up for this benefit. Shameful.
The worst part of Prop 13 is that corporations never die. The tax rate on them remains the same regardless of how many times it gets sold. It only goes up by the same percentage that residential property goes up, which is capped at 2% annually.
There are other billionaire-sponsored propositions on the ballot:
Prop 38: funnels state funds into a billionaire-sponsored entity without much of a track record
Props 39 and 43: limits the ability of voters to increase taxes
Prop 42: aimed at preventing any new measures similar to Prop 40 (the billionaire tax)
this article fails to mention that the billionaires throwing millions of dollars to defeat prop 40 have created two further propositions that would invalidate prop 40 even if it passes. Prop 41 and prop 42 will specifically negate prop 40 if either one of them passes, so please, if you're a Californian remember it's yes on prop 40 and no on prop 41 and prop 42. Thank you.
Newsom is against the billionaires tax AND argued to let the Ellison’s takeover of paramount and CNN/HBO and more go through.
His national campaign is dead
Agree. Newsom’s my governor and will never get my vote for prez.
I think progressive income tax rates are the way to go but it would need to include taxing the money from loans millionaires and billionaires borrow which must be defined as a form of income.
They are going to duck and dodge and find new loopholes, and I don't believe Congress is capable of not leaving them some. So it won't be accomplished the first time around, or even the second, but it's something that we have to do.
You randomly throw out that the democratic leadership is against this tax. Then the only people you refer to are Newsom and Becerra. Newsom is a pretend democrat. He loves the rich and wants to be among them. He has no backbone except when he comes up with comments he makes about T. As for Becerra, it appears he wants a tax on the rich - just not this one. I'm hoping the voters agree with the taxes on the billionaires.
I agree with the argument that this taxation needs to be done at the federal level, not the state. However, no American likes paying higher taxes no matter the income level. 5% is too high. Lower it to 1%. That will still generate a good chunk of money for government to fund social programs.
The fact that most of those with way too much money do not even want to contribute a small fraction through taxation says all you need to know about these kind of people. Any politician fighting this tax is nothing but a paid lackey to these über rich.
And if the US tries to raise taxes on the wealthy, I suppose they will threaten to leave the US too. In which case, we will have to use our market power to strip them of their wealth. They will ultimately lose which is why they are so dead set on scaring us into submission. The thing is, we can take a lot more from them and they'll STILL be unbelievably rich.
And Iowa's amendment 1 requires a 2/3 majority to raise taxes.
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/07/22/iowans-for-tax-relief-launches-awareness-campaign-for-constitutional-amendment/
We need a national tax, and we also need to close offshore loopholes. Best if done jointly with other nations.