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Put CA Millionaires in Loony Bins
Normally I wouldn’t insist on putting a whole category of people in insane asylums. But that’s where we should put all of California’s millionaires. Anyone who sticks around this state and pays the massive taxes they do is certifiably insane. Any sane millionaire already should have left the state back in 2004. That year, the state’s psych jockeys hypnotized voters into passing Proposition 63. It imposed a new 1 percentage point income tax on millionaires to fund mental-health boondoggles — to the benefit of the psych jockeys. Talk about your Freudian Projection. And that tax was on top of the 9.3 percent existing top tax. So the top rate is 10.3 percent. Plus there’s the 35 percent top federal income tax. So the total in California is 45.3 percent. Just by moving to Texas or Nevada, which have no state income tax, millionaires thus enjoy an immediate 23 percent tax cut. See what I mean? Why would any sane millionaire stay here? Now, the California Federation of Teachers is leading a gaggle of leftist groups in working for yet another income-tax increase on millionaires. Reports the Contra Costa Times: “Josh Pechthalt, the president of the 100,000-member teachers union, said the monthlong protests that have spread around the globe have bolstered his group’s plan to tax millionaires, which has been in the works since the beginning of the year. “He’s hoping to sell other labor groups and Gov. Jerry Brown on the plan to boost tax revenues for schools, colleges, social services and other programs, but he says his group will move ahead without them if they’re not ready to catch the tax-the-rich wave.” What should be done, instead, is to use all the money from Prop. 63 to capture all California millionaires, strap them into straight jackets, dump them in loony bins and get them treated by Nurse Ratched.
– Oct. 18, 2011
Tags: California Federation of Teachers, Freud, Jack Nicholson, John Seiler, Josh Pechthalt, millionaires, Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Taxes Comments(5) |
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May 23, 2012
The actual lunatics have been running the Sacramento asylum for some time.
Such a tax will reduce tax revenues (not increase it). That being said, the wealthy will avoid the tax as much as possible, by diverting income out-of-state (so that their income is, as much as possible, not California source income) and/or establishing residence out-of-state (but maintaining one or more California residences, as second or third homes).
The California teachers unions are despicable. They annually spend over $100 million (of taxpayer dollars) on politics: expanding state power, increasing spending, fighting reform, and grabbing for taxpayer dollars. There can be no meaningful reform in this state until the power of the public sector unions is curbed.
I certainly wish that the members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) would actually apply their math, economics, history, and critical reasoning skills. AFT is right. We do have a problem, but the problem is NOT that California’s taxes are too low for upper-income earners.
California ALREADY has the second highest marginal tax rate (10.3%) in the nation. Only Oregon and Hawaii have higher marginal rates (11%).
http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/state_individualincome_rates-2000-2011-20110503.pdf
California’s millionaires ALREADY pay a surtax supposedly to fund mental health services proving, I guess, that you must be crazy to be a millionaire and officially live in California.
California ALREADY implements President Obama’s so-called “Buffett Test.” Capital gains in California are ALREADY taxed EXACTLY like ordinary income.
California’s wealthy ALREADY pay the bulk of the state’s income taxes. The top 2% pay roughly HALF OF ALL PERSONAL INCOME TAXES (PIT). The top 33% minority ALREADY pays 94% of the PIT tax load. The bottom two-thirds supermajority contributes JUST 6%.
http://soquelbythecreek.blogspot.com/2009/07/oppressive-progressive-income-tax.html
California’s upper-income taxpayers ALREADY pay a much higher effective tax rate than do the majority of Californian’s. I ask you, looking at the chart in the article below, who isn’t paying their fair share?
http://soquelbythecreek.blogspot.com/2011/10/who-pays-their-fair-share-in-california.html
CHART: Average Effective Tax Rate for California Personal Income Tax (2008, latest data)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sxbJ_FVETsg/ToyMdvgYb8I/AAAAAAAAAog/KwqkPpj9B40/s1600/Average+Effective+Tax+Rate+California+Personal+Income+Tax+2008.png
California’s high taxes ALREADY places the state at or near the bottom on a variety of business climate surveys. On one survey of 500 CEOs from around the country, California has ranked DEAD LAST as a place to do business since at least 2005! In another survey, 70.5% of respondents ranked California as the least favorable business climate in the U.S.!
http://chiefexecutive.net/best-worst-states-for-business
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html
http://www.aboutdci.com/wp-content/themes/dci/docs/Winning-Strategies-2011.pdf (See Appendix C).
Is it any surprise then that California also has the nation’s second-worst unemployment rate?
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
Of course, as part of the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) enjoys tremendous clout both in Sacramento and Washington, as does its cousin organization, the California Teachers Association (CTA). The CTA is the #1 top spender in California politics according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). CTA outspends the #2 top spender, SEIU, by almost double!
http://soquelbythecreek.blogspot.com/2011/02/do-public-employee-unions-have-major.html
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/reports/Report31110.pdf
CHART: Biggest Spenders in California Politics (via California Fair Political Practices Commission)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QYjqoLlSLHc/TWrGCBvd3zI/AAAAAAAAAjs/bRo2KjEibAo/s1600/big_spenders_in_ca_politics_barchart.png
AFT is #11 on the list of top all-time national political donors, giving 91% of their member’s state-mandated contributions to Democrats, 0% to Republicans. Hmmm.
TABLE: Top All-Time National Political Donors (1989-2012)
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?order=A
California’s politicians kowtow to the unions. Even fellow career Democrats like former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown recognize this. As he stated in his article, “Jerry Brown won’t challenge teachers union,” …
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-02-27/bay-area/28635640_1_teachers-union-pensions-union-leaders
“No one knows the power of such unions in California better than Gov. Jerry Brown.
“You’ll notice that even as he’s proposed draconian cuts to health and welfare programs and the state’s universities, and asked taxpayers to pony up extra for several more years, BROWN HAS BEEN CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH TEACHERS.
“HE KNOWS GOOD AND WELL WHAT THE CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CAN DO FOR HIM – OR AGAINST HIM – IN AN ELECTION. And this year, he needs the union’s help to pass his tax extensions.”
Instead of using their political clout on REAL solutions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is wasting their member’s dues and our time on yet more non-solutions. AFT, how about using your political clout on tax reform, spending reform, or pension reform? For too long, organizations like AFT have blocked prudent reforms in California and in Washington. Consequently, there are likely massive spending cuts coming later this year as part of the Super Committee process, which likely means cuts for AFT members and other public employees. AFT, if you refuse to be part of the solution, then by definition, you become part of the problem.
“Why would any sane millionaire stay here?”
Hmmm…can’t think of why they would. But maybe I’m just not smart enough to figure it out.
I’m sure Steveo from Sacto will chime in with the answer. Something like, “Our overlords in Sacramento can spend the money so much more wisely than a millionaire every could.”
And after all, let’s not forget that our rulers in Sacramento love us and everything they do is for the children.
So I’d love to post some more videos for you all but I’ve got to get back to work to pay for that lady’s health care…oh…and some tuition for a few illegal aliens.
Adios amigos,
Sol
And yet these millionaires never seem to stop giving money to the thieves keeping us down. How ironic.