Bobzhuman

Another must read from Mike Walker, Colonel USMC (retired) All, Please resist the populist salve of taxing the "rich" that has crippled California public finances. We have a model where 1% of the earners pay about 50% of the income taxes. What could be better? Soak the rich and the rest of us schmoos get it back in the form of government programs. Hurry, hurry, get your free ticket for the Government Gravy Train! Well, as we have painfully found out it California, nothing could be any worse. First, California's spark for job creation is small businesses (and has been since the end of the Cold War nearly two decades ago). They are also the largest percentage of high earners for income taxes. Movie stars and pro-athletes are a fraction of a percent of these earners. Tax small businesses into a cave and kiss job creation good-bye! Second, when 50% of your taxes are tied to 1% of the earners you get a life-long pass on the government revenue rollercoaster (which has no resemblance to the government gravy train mentioned above). It is a wicked ride. It kills you when it's up and it kills you when it's down. When the rich boys and girls are riding high, the government coffers will take in a fortune in taxes as California did in 2000. How is this bad? Because politicians will never believe that this peak is a one-time occurrence. They will put on their rose-colored glasses and assume that the rollercoaster only goes up and up. So instead of pausing to enjoy the view, they commit the government to on-going spending increases that takes them (and the rest of us) right off the rails and out into the wild blue yonder. Which is an even better view until gravity takes over. And what happens when the rich boys and girls in California have an economic sneeze like we do today during the recession? Well, then your handy-dandy government catches pneumonia. We still do not know how sick California government is right now. We do know it is as close to death as it has ever been and will not be getting better anytime soon. So the moral to the story is that when you hear some Wahington D.C. politician (especially one elected from California) tell you the big fib that all your problems can be solved by taxing the rich then grab your wallet, lock your door, and pray for divine intervention. Because if these fools get their way the whole United States will be getting onboard "Mr. Crazy California's Wild-Ride" to governance oblivion. And then we can change the name of Washington from the District of Columbia to the District of California. Party hardy, dudes! All the best Mike