Wednesday, May 16, 2012

How to Chase People Out of California, Greek Style

John Handleman reports:
As everyone capable of rational thought predicted, California Governor Jerry Brown is coming out in favor of gigantic tax increases in California – already one of the most highly taxed, and insolvent, states in the union. A ballot initiative this November would give California a whopping 13.3 percent top marginal rate for state income taxes..

The new California tax rate is a great example of the special interest politics that have ruined California. Brown was originally going to jack the rate up to a mere 12.3 percent, but the unions demanded more, and threatened to run their own ballot initiative for a higher rate. Brown caved and signed on to the union demand, in order to avoid diluting the political support he’ll need to ram these higher taxes down the throat of his dying state.

The pretense that these increased taxes will be used to clean up California’s horrendous budget deficits is the thinnest pretense of fiscal responsibility in history, because Brown’s next budget will match the projected revenue from his tax hike with higher spending, dollar for dollar..

And, of course, Brown’s projected revenue increases are a leftist fantasy. No tax increase ever brings in the revenue it promises, and this effect becomes more pronounced at higher levels of taxation, because the incentives to avoid the higher tax rate increase. California’s beloved Hollywood is notoriously good at such avoidance, despite the tendency of liberal movie stars to loudly advocate higher taxes for everyone else.

(ViaGregMankiw)

2 comments:

  1. When can we get the coroner to declare that the Golden State Goose is dead?

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  2. Every one of my close graduate school friends that stayed in California after graduation has since moved out, even a few of the natives.

    ReplyDelete