Posted on 01/02/2026 9:16:08 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The fiery debate about a proposed ballot measure to tax California’s billionaires has sparked some soul-searching across the state.
While the idea of a one-time tax on more than 200 people has a long way to go before getting onto the ballot and would need to be passed by voters in November, the tempest around it captures the zeitgeist of angst and anger at the core of California. Silicon Valley is minting new millionaires while millions of the state’s residents face the loss of healthcare coverage and struggle with inflation.
Supporters of the proposed billionaire tax say it is one of the few ways the state can provide healthcare for its most vulnerable. Opponents warn it would squash the innovation that has made the state rich and prompt an exodus of wealthy entrepreneurs from the state.
The controversial measure is already creating fractures among powerful Democrats who enjoy tremendous sway in California. Progressive icon Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) quickly endorsed the billionaire tax, while Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced it .
The Golden State’s rich residents say they are tired of feeling targeted. Their success has not only created unimaginable wealth but also jobs and better lives for Californians, they say, yet they feel they are being punished.
“California politics forces together some of the richest areas of America with some of the poorest, often separated by just a freeway,” said Thad Kousser,...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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The rich are only being punished if they stay in CA.
Fools and their money are soon parted.
Only people with souls are capable of soul-searching.
And those on the left have no souls at all, or if they did, they sold them to satan a long time ago.
Correct.
Hello, THERE IS NO ONE TIME TAX MEASURE!
> A proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires… <
That’s funny right there.
This will eventually become an annual tax on whomever the California legislature defines as “rich”. I suspect that definition will include anyone who makes more money than a member of the California legislature.
“I see you have some money there. Give it to me.”
They say it’s intended to be a one time tax.
I find it hard to believe that they won’t do it again and again.
There will always be something needed, for the children, or to provide health care , or some other humanitarian cause, for which liberals will say we need more tax money. And it sounds easy to say, well, it’s just going to be a one time tax.
What will they say the next time they try to do that? Are there really going to be able to be intellectually honest?And say, well, this is just another one time tax and, they’ll never do it again?
If you believe this is a “one-time tax”, I have a bridge I’m willing to sell you.
It will not be “one time.” It’s not a tax. It’s confiscation.
The fraud behind this so-called billionaire’s tax is that eventually it will come to visit the middle class after some secret re-defining by the Sacramento pashas and the realization that it isn’t generating the revenue they require to live their lavish lives. Like most taxes.
Socialism (current year American style) means only politicians are allowed to be rich.
They already got their cut of that money. They’re not morally allowed to retroactively decide they didn’t get enough.
Also, only those capable of critical thinking can do such a search.
fuhgeddaboudit
“A proposed one-time 5% wealth tax”... “
Yeah, “one time”... until the next time.
And it’s only billionaires... now. Later we’ll make it for millionaires too. And soon thereafter “thousandaires” too.
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program!
They need to stay there and not spread the funk elsewhere. They voted for it.
” They’re not morally allowed”
HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
What’s always missing in these debates is who’s pushing this crap.
And the answer to that is that is the SEIU, AKA “the illegal alien union”.
This is the end result of letting a bunch of rabid thieves into your country: they will just try to take what they couldn’t make.
From Zohran “Twinkie Trotsky” Mamdani to trash like Norma Torres and the rest of so-called “hispanic Americans” they all babble the same crap: we gonna take your money, gringo!
And, if you believe “one time” would be “one time”, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you.
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