Jerry Brown's tax increase is a big risk

Sacramento Bee ^ | 1/13/12 | Dan Walters

[SmithL]

"Soak the rich" has a populist ring that resonates in a period of economic uncertainty, and making the rich pay their "fair share" of taxes has become a rallying cry for those on the political left with no small appeal to those in the middle.

Gov. Jerry Brown hopes to tap into that sentiment with a ballot measure that would increase everyone's sales taxes a bit while hitting the very affluent with higher income taxes.

If he's successful, however, there are downside risks, beginning with the possibility that some will move legally, if not physically, to states with lower or even no income taxes, such as Nevada.

And even if there's no mass migration, the rich can employ tax-avoidance strategies, especially since their incomes tend to come from capital gains rather than salaries.

Finally, even if the rich pay higher taxes, the effect would be to sharply increase the state's dependence on how a relative handful of Californians are doing with investments – in effect, tying the state budget even more closely to the vagaries of the stock market, rather than the overall economy.

[SmithL]

Birds gotta fly,

fish gotta swim, and

Rats gotta tax!

[Califreak]

Mark my words.

He will mess with Prop 13 before his term is up and homeowner’s will see their tax rates skyrocket.

[Tzimisce]

We warned you people in California.

But you guys knew better than the rest of us.

Now you’re moving to my neighborhood and bringing your big government socialist ideas with you. :(

[blueunicorn6]

It’s a win/win situation for old Jer. He gets more tax money to play with, or there are fewer of those little people walking on his beach when he wants to be alone.

[OldNavyVet]

I know a person that gave notice within minutes after Bush the First went back on his pledge for ... "No new taxes."

"Be prepared" ... A great motto.

Prepare yourself for the day a Wolf Pack politician comes after your income.

[formosa]

Wonder what Mr. Brown will do when there is no one left to tax in his state.

[vette6387]

“We warned you people in California.

But you guys knew better than the rest of us.

Now you’re moving to my neighborhood and bringing your big government socialist ideas with you.”

Actually, those high-income folks who may well leave are the remaining Conservatives here. So the RATs, if they are successful, will have effectively screwed themselves. Walters is an old union loving hack, but like a stopped clock , he’s right twice a day. And here he is spot on. In playing the politics of expediency ( and stupidity) Brown has sealed his party’s fate. He won’t get the revenue he thinks is out there and he has effectively pushed the state further out on the financial limb. I’ve lived here for more than 70 years and I am hoping against all hope that the state crashes soon and crashed hard.

[pogo101]

If you make the state sufficiently anti-jobs and anti-entrepreneur, eventually 2/3 of the electorate will be takers, not makers. (CA is already at about the 60% mark and climbing each month.)

Of course, without those “makers” who increasingly are leaving the state, CA becomes what I’ve long called “Big Hawaii”: a beautiful state graced with nice climate, ocean views, agriculture and natural resources, but so far left that the pretty much the only folks who choose to live there are wealthy retirees, government employees and persons on the dole.

[Ranger Warrior]

Jerry isn’t taking any risk. The California voters not only took a risk when they elected this nimrod... again, they aim to commit suicide with the state’s budget when they decide to tax the rich. It’s been tried before and it failed dismally. If this moronic tax passes, it will fail again. Welcome to the land of the “stupids.”

[JamesA]

California is doomed.

[SierraWasp]

Listen! First the "blockbusters" caused "white flight" in CA by depressing values in neighborhoods, causing a mass exedus from "blue voting" areas to northern and eastern CA!

The "ex-urbans" have gradually destroyed the tranquility of suburban/rural CA and discolored the political landscape making it unrecognizable!!

Yes! Then they fanned out (as they did in most other parts of the country, unless they were underdeveloped or "uncivilized") and extended a curse on most all of America!!!

Now, the current foreign administration is blockbusting the entire nation to finish the job and now there's no where to get away from it. So fix it, fight it and overcome it unlike all those in the recent past who took their equity and ran for the hills to live in "equitable servitude" behind the prison-like gates of "gated communeities" in remote wildernesses almost impossible to commute from except of the fantastic Eisenhower "freeways!"

In other words, get over it and get used to it unless you're willing to join the struggle against it on a personal basis. Stop simply blaming CA!!!

[Brilliant]

If he repeals prop 13, the value of property will collapse.

[KamperKen]

Jerry Brown and his Marxist/Stalinist fellow travelers in the so-called Democratic Party have to execute the principal measures of setting up a socialist utopia to make his latest tax scheme work; setup armed guard towers at the borders to prevent anyone from leaving and print their own (and worthless) currency.

As more businesses and individuals flee, California will revert to a state of nature similar to that in the book The Lord of the Flies or the movie Escape from New York.

[GOP Poet]

California (especially the coastal parts of California is odd.) You have the extreme wealth along the coast and those that serve them. Yet many of these extremely wealthy vote and support libs and Dems and are idiots when it comes to the balance sheet and fiscal and moral reality.

Then there are those who 'serve' the wealthy. Many of whom are 'victim' mind state Dems that vocally attack the wealthy. (Which is so odd as these are the people that often employ them and ultimately allow for them to have and thrive in their jobs.) Then there are the skaters. The welfare kings and queens.

Where or where did the conservatives/capitalists go or where of where did they go? (To Texas. HAHA!)

Did I mention all the wealthy people that attack the wealthy. They are just whacked out of their minds here.

[sr4402]

For every Millionaire that flees, about a thousand illegals flood in. For every Millionaire that goes, a goodly number of jobs go away. For every illegal, it increases the load on the California Welfare system.

Jose Illegal works for cash and doesn't report it, Thus qualifying for Welfare and Earned Income Tax Credits which he sends back to his country. It is like a horde of vampires sucking the blood out of the State.

Eventually the State will not be able to stand and that's when change (not Hope and Change) will begin.

[Califreak]

Thank you!

Maybe I’m paranoid.... but hear me out.

I feel like there is an organized effort to pollute every single area of our country with all this liberal nonsense.

I believe they move around, screwing everything up, picking one target after another.

I don’t believe Californians and New Yorkers are strictly to blame. I believe the people who are doing this are from all over the country.

[SierraWasp]

And... quite a few more from out of the country that are lonsome for Europe with it's failing Socialism. I hear them here in public meetings bewailing the lack of "good ideas like they have in Europe!"

I've tried to remind them of the reason we have an America is to break away from the old country with all it's tyranny and sensless wars and meaningless lifetimes spent in altruism for no righteous reason, but they obviously aren't listening!!!