Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Brown takes tougher tack on wealthy
Los Angeles Times ^ | March 15, 2012 | Anthony York

Posted on 03/15/2012 7:04:10 AM PDT by LucianOfSamasota

Reporting from Sacramento—

Months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown won business and labor backing for an initiative that combined higher taxes on California's top income earners with a half-cent sales tax — a strategy he said would share the pain of addressing the state's budget woes.

But on Wednesday, bowing to pressure from liberal activists, the governor modified his proposal, agreeing to cut the sales tax hike in half and place a greater share of the burden on the wealthy.

Brown cast the revision as a strategic move to reduce the number of tax proposals voters may face on the November ballot — and increase the chances that the electorate will embrace at least one measure to provide a sorely needed revenue increase.

"This united effort makes victory more likely and will go a long way toward balancing our budget and protecting our schools, universities and public safety," Brown said in a statement.

The deal takes off the table a proposal, sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers, that had sought a special millionaires tax. It immediately drew criticism from political observers, who said Brown was tarnishing his carefully cultivated image of an honest broker who would not be moved by political pressure.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: moonbeamsolutions
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-35 last
To: LucianOfSamasota

While billions of barrels of oil sit untouched off the coast and millions of illegals suckle and drain the government teat, Brown stalks the ‘rich’. What a marvelous plan; I’m sure it’ll work.


21 posted on 03/15/2012 7:31:04 AM PDT by JPG (Hold on tight; rough road ahead.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LucianOfSamasota
...and in related news, Apple has recently announced that they will open a new facility in Texas for 3600 new employees

Apple Expanding in Texas

I just don't want the "locust" type voters coming to Texas. If your vote/habits ruined your state, STAY THERE.

22 posted on 03/15/2012 7:37:52 AM PDT by lormand (A Government who robs Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
"I moved from CA to TX this year and the more I see stories like this, the better I feel about it."

Welcome to Texas!

23 posted on 03/15/2012 7:40:20 AM PDT by lormand (A Government who robs Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: matginzac

Page 1 of the bill would contain the tax increases on the rich. The left wing lunatics will read page 1 and would be very happy. Pages 2 to 500 of the bill would contain the many exemptions and deductions that would render this tax increase meaningless…because the rich liberals do not want to pay more taxes but in fact use every possible mean under the sun to pay less taxes and at the same time they preach the rhetoric of higher taxes on the rich to have their base vote them into power… The rich liberals have been using this trick forever and their stupid base buys it all the time…


24 posted on 03/15/2012 7:45:04 AM PDT by jveritas (God bless our brave troops)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
I paid $15,000 in CA State Income Tax last year (and probably half that again in sales tax).

Wow!!! God bless your soul for trying to make a go of it there. I moved from there in 1976 and will never set up residence there again.

25 posted on 03/15/2012 7:52:21 AM PDT by ScottinVA (A single drop of American blood for muslims is one drop too many!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: LucianOfSamasota

The big dummy Brown is trying to empty the state of all wealthy people so he can lay claim to the Mexican turd world state of Californica...


26 posted on 03/15/2012 7:58:03 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LucianOfSamasota

Let’s face it..there aren’t any union workers making the minimum amount to have to pay the millionaire tax; yet the state is in trouble due to the public union pensions. I propose that there be a 2% income tax surcharge to all union members to add to the millionaire tax...like Obama says, “just keepin’ it fair”.


27 posted on 03/15/2012 8:21:34 AM PDT by sanjuanbob (Festina Lente)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LucianOfSamasota

If he was serious about sticking it to the wealthy, he’d be going after Pelosi to pay her fair share for the common good...


28 posted on 03/15/2012 8:38:24 AM PDT by trebb ("If a man will not work, he should not eat" From 2 Thes 3)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA

>> I moved from there in 1976 and will never set up residence there again.<<

I have fallen hard for Texas. I love the State, the people, even the psychopathic weather. Yeah, they have some problems and too much liberal influence, but that is everywhere (I have “lived” all over the country since I am a business traveler with 2+ million miles). It has a LOT of advantages and, frankly, other than the weather, few perceptible disadvantages compared to California.

DAILY, I say to myself “those fools in California are at it again!” with a self-satisfied smile...

I do miss my birth home a little, but I wouldn’t go back even if I had to WALK back to Texas...


29 posted on 03/15/2012 8:50:59 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Spoiler Alert! The secret to Terra Nova: THEY ARE ALL DEAD!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: lormand

Thanks! See my post #29 at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2859385/posts?page=29#29 :)


30 posted on 03/15/2012 8:52:22 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Spoiler Alert! The secret to Terra Nova: THEY ARE ALL DEAD!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: camle

The following is the Democratic “common good” version of the old favorite, the Ant and the Grasshopper:

Remember the ant and the grasshopper?

OLD VERSION . . .

The ant works hard, in the withering heat, all summer long.
He builds his house and stores supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks that the ant is a fool.
He laughs, dances and plays the summer away, preparing nothing for the coming winter.

Winter comes, the ant is safe and warm.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

The moral to the story being: BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW VERSION . . . (sad but true)

The ant works hard, in the withering heat, all summer long.
He builds his house and stores supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks that the ant is a fool.
He laughs, dances and plays the summer away, preparing nothing for the coming winter.

Winter comes, the ant is safe and warm.
The shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and fed, while others are cold and starving!

CBS, NBC, ABC & CNN show up to provide pictures of shivering grasshoppers, next to a video of an ant
in his comfortable home, with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast! How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer this way?

Kermit the Frog appears on The View, with the grasshopper.
Everyone cries when they sing “It’s Not Easy Being Green”.

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house, where the news stations film the group
singing “We Shall Overcome”.
Jesse then has the group pray for the grasshopper’s sake, and reminds the group to contribute to his group, so that he can “continue the fight” for grasshoppers, everywhere!

barak and michelle obama exclaim, in an interview with Tom Brokaw, that the ant has gotten rich, off
the back of the poor grasshopper!
Both call for an immediate tax hike, to make the ant pay “his fair share”!

Finally, the EEOC drafts the “Economic Equity For Grasshoppers Act”, retroactive to the beginning of the
summer. eric holder files a suit against the ant, accordingly.

The ant is fined for failing to hire the proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to
pay his retroactive taxes, his house is confiscated by the government.

Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper, in a defamation suit against the ant.
The case is tried in federal court, with a jury comprised of unemployed welfare recipients.

Surprise! The ant loses the case!

The story ends, as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food, while the government house he lives in (which happens to be the ant’s old house) crumbles around him,
due to lack of maintenance!

The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found, dead, in a drug-related incident.
The house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders, who terrorize this once-peaceful neighborhood.

The moral of this version? Don’t vote for Democrats or liberals.

(copied from http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2006/10/the_ant_and_the.html with some small edits)


31 posted on 03/15/2012 8:59:19 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Spoiler Alert! The secret to Terra Nova: THEY ARE ALL DEAD!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
I moved from CA to TX this year and the more I see stories like this, the better I feel about it.

I moved from San Diego, CA to Pocatello, ID in Dec 2000. It was a good strategy until the states conspired to hit multi-state companies like my employer. The new game is to track the zip code where you perform your work on each task. When the time sums up to 20 or more days in calendar year, the state income tax is apportioned to the states where the zip codes reside. There is a "tax the rich" angle too. Certain employees in higher income categories get hit sooner than the 20 day time frame. It is much like what is done to professional ball players. They get assessed by each state where they play since the compensation per game is substantial. I had to pay CA and ID state income tax for 2011 and file taxes in both states. The ADP payroll folks made the W2 painless. TurboTax took care of the multi-state details.

The multi-state apportionment of taxes has a surprising impact on the "progressive" taxation scheme. Your marginal tax rates may end up lower than if you kept all your income in your state of residence. If your gross is $150K for federal, but spread equally across 3 states, you might well fall in a much lower marginal rate in the 3 states. If any of those states are no income tax states, you have no state taxes in those states. Your state of residence may be hopping mad that they agreed to the deal because they were assessing you state income tax on money earned in the no tax state.

32 posted on 03/15/2012 10:10:40 AM PDT by Myrddin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
I paid $15,000 in CA State Income Tax last year (and probably half that again in sales tax). How many illegals making $5 an hour at car washes and restaurants will it take to make that up?

CA took $19,200 from my in 2000. Those $5/hr illegals at the car wash aren't paying taxes, but they are using social services at rates that cost about $1500 per head annually in excess of anything they contribute.

33 posted on 03/15/2012 10:15:34 AM PDT by Myrddin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: freedumb2003
My brother lives in Santa Rosa and is trying to get out of there and move where the jobs are. My sister in law fears temps above 80 degrees so she is pushing hard not to move where the jobs are....Texas.

Texas - What America used to be

34 posted on 03/17/2012 10:55:39 AM PDT by lormand (A Government who robs Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: lormand

>>. My sister in law fears temps above 80 degrees so she is pushing hard not to move where the jobs are....Texas.<<

The weather was rather nice in L.A. But not so nice as to be plundered to pay for it.


35 posted on 03/17/2012 10:59:49 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (Spoiler Alert! The secret to Terra Nova: THEY ARE ALL DEAD!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-35 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson