Exit - Stage Left: California's Proposed Departure Tax

From Political Pistachio:

Ronald Reagan knew that government was (and still is) the problem, not the solution, to the problem. He once said, "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And, if it stops moving, subsidize it."

In California the economic and social environment has become so hostile to many, that a mass exodus has begun. People are leaving California in droves, as the illegal aliens gladly move in to set up their squatter villages.

The left has taken control of California, and the state has become a battleground in America's war over values. Californians have been pushed with their kindness, their willingness, their openness, their leniency toward aberrant behavior, government control, and out of control taxation. When is enough enough?

The Liberals in California act upon all of their urges in all situations, letting it all hang out, following their guiding principle: If it feels good, do it. Anyone who disagrees is labeled a bigot, and then is run out of town, or at least pressured to do so if they don't wish to participate in the antics of Hollywood and San Francisco, California's own Sodom and Gomorrah.

Those that have self-respect and want better for their families, neighbors, and the sake of the country, are leaving. Those of the Right have values that keep them from taking a drink, lighting up a joint, or hopping in the sack with anyone that wants them to. Conservatives, more often than not, are the kind of people that drop to their knees and pray for strength, rather than give in to the worldly debauchery.

And as these people of values do what they can to escape California, as well as owners of successful businesses who have found it more and more difficult to conduct business in California because of all of the regulations and fees and taxes, the Liberal Left is doing what it can to take what it can from them as they leave.

A ballot proposal is underway in California that would amend the State Constitution with a Wealth Tax. Specifically, this is an additional tax to be levied against high valued property, and high income (between 36.5% - 54.3% one-time tax) should a resident die, or decide to leave the State of California.

The writer of the proposal is a CPA and liberal activist by the name of Paul McCauley. In addition to taxing folks for trying to get out of California (or simply dying, for that matter), the proposal imposes an additional 17.5% tax on total incomes of taxpayers with income exceeding $150,000 (which, considering the cost of living here in California, that is not really that high of an income) if single, or $250,000 if married; imposes an additional 35% tax if income exceeds $350,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple, and requires the State to acquire shares of specified corporations to influence environmental policies and practices.

No wonder right-minded people are trying to get out of this idiotic State.

Why would anyone want to live in California with the rules we have, especially if this proposal were to pass?

The Liberal Democrats are basically saying that the American dream is a bad thing, and they will make it impossible to achieve such. And, if by some remote chance you do reach that dream, and become highly successful and prosperous, the government is going to step in and make sure you pay for it heavily so that you will never really truly get there.

This proposal is California's way of saying, "Hey, welcome to success, cough it up before you enjoy it, please. How dare you succeed!"

Give me a break. A 55% wealth tax? Hollywood folks won't mind that too much because they have so much frickin' money they use it as kindling in the fireplace. As for the rest of us, under this rule, that is a lot of money to have to cough up - and if your business is barely operating in the black because of all of the regulations and fees already imposed, the soup line is right around the corner.

An exit/death tax? Are you kidding me? Since we want to get the heck out of Dodge, they are going to try to fence us in with this? And then if you couple this with the Federal Estate tax, in the end, no one can financially afford to die. So much for me being able to leave anything to my kids. Also, if Business "A" moves from San Francisco to New York the CEO has to cough up at least a 36.8 additional percent of both income and the unrealized appreciation he may have in asset that are valued in excess of $5 million. Remember, he is already paying 90% plus (With a producer's existing Federal Income taxes, existing State Income taxes, payroll taxes and the many other taxes imposed, high producers will be lucky to net much of anything on their earnings. A self-employed individual could have a marginal tax rate in excess of 90%. Could you live on 10% of what you make?). This part of the ballot proposal was added to prevent a mass exodus that is already happening. A lot of money is leaving California because of the unfriendly environment to business and success, and they are simply trying to stop the bleeding.

And keep in mind that the businesses being targeted by this, those horribly successful corporations that are somehow ruining America in eyes of the idiot Left, are the individuals that are producing growth and jobs. These targeted businesses that are now finding it hard to do business in California are the major driving forces behind the State economy. A tax like this removes all of the incentive to do any of these things, and is simply another reason to get out of California. In the end, these entities with either move to another state, or they will stop producing.

Why work extra hours to make a measly 10% of your earnings when you could spend it with your friends and family elsewhere?

The goal of this proposition is to gain revenue from the rich, give it to the poor, and keep anyone from leaving the State of California. Idiotic taxes like this ballot proposal actually do the opposite of what they desire. Instead of gaining revenue, they scare away more of the businesses that keeps this economy moving, which in the end takes away more jobs, and leaves more people in the poor-house. The left doesn't seem to understand that a profit driven economy needs profit to survive. The American Dream is all about that profit. Removing any and all rewards for producing and making more money will only do one thing - turn the high producers into takers, and make more people poor.

Democrats believe there is a class war going on, and wishes to eliminate the classes so that we can all be the same. At the rate they are going, they will be a rousing success soon, because the class war will soon come to an end because there won't be any rich left. In the end, there will no longer be any disparity between the classes because we will all be poor - except for those elitist politicians who will rule from the top with the absolute power of regulations, fees, and taxation.

~Douglas V. Gibbs~

Heading Right Convention - Transcript of my speech on America's Moral Compass

The Heading Right Convention aired tonight and I was one of the speakers on the floor. The convention aired in two parts. Visit The Heading Right Convention for the proper links. And while you are on that site, visit the voting area on the right side bar and vote for Political Pistachio and me, Douglas V. Gibbs. There is about two days of voting left for the Heading Right Awards. At last look I was 13 votes out of first place for best show, and a few more votes back for best host.

Now, the following is the transcript of my speech at the Heading Right Convention:


I am sitting here with a United States Navy hat upon my head, and a God Bless America shirt on my body. I served this nation with pride, and a patriotic love in my heart. I created Political Pistachio to spread the good news of Conservative values - To share with the world what America's moral compass is really all about.

While the Democratic Party is whipping up into a near-frenzy about dividing America in Denver with more hatred and anti-Bush rage, we are here on Blog Talk Radio at this Heading Right Convention celebrating the greatness of America.

The leftist Democrats constantly try to overcompensate their claimed beliefs in heartland American values, portraying themselves as a party of the people, proclaiming their humble origins, blue-collar beginnings, and religious convictions. Such hypocrisy.

Their positions continuously oppose American values, despite how much they try to convince us otherwise.

It is the conservatives that stand for the traditional family and the defense of marriage, less cultural pollution, educational choice, freedom of religion, fiscal restraint, pro-life, the right to bear arms, lower taxes, an end to junk lawsuits, and a general patriotic support of our fine men and women of the United States Military.

It is Conservatives fighting for a strong American Moral Compass while the liberal left is putting condoms on cucumbers, telling 8th graders that they're really gay and they need their own high school, shutting down the Boy Scouts because they support a straight and patriotic life, suing businesses on false pretenses, and jack hammering the Ten Commandments from all public displays while trying to remove God from the public square and our lives.

America's greatness is a direct result of America's strong moral compass. Our moral values as a people demands high standards of right and good conduct. The direction of societal behavior is in direct relation to our moral belief system. Our moral beliefs, in turn, directly affects our overall culture, and political system.

In the Old Testament it says that you reap what you sow. An old secular saying supports that, saying what comes around goes around. The United States has prospered for that very reason. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and this nation has always tried to do what's right. But we must remember it was the people of this nation, not the politicians in government, that made this nation prosper.

A strong central government is not capable of doing what is right because a strong moral compass is not its reason for existing. Big government exists to protect itself, and to spawn more big government. Its enslavement of the people then becomes an addiction to power, a never ending need for more and more.

The party of change desires to convince you that big government is what you need. The Democrats wish to reprogram our moral compass. The liberals support the genocidal murder of innocent, unborn lives, calling it "choice" to justify the horrific murderous practice. They support the destruction of the traditional family and the silencing of those of faith that would speak out against the radical homosexual agenda - and they call it a civil rights movement, rather than an attempt to justify a behavior that has long been considered an abnormality. The liberals have used the courts to override the moral compass of the American people. They have used the schools to indoctrinate our children to teach them to reject America's moral compass. They have assaulted us with a pop-culture of sex that is plagued with promiscuity, disease, and is pushed by the biased media and entertainment industry. And they do this in the name of change and hope. . . but what they are really doing is destroying morality in America.

Abortion on demand, a radical homosexual agenda, attacks on religion, and disarming America is not the kind of change I desire.

I believe Americans are smarter than that. This great nation is prosperous because the people refuse to succumb to such bondage. We are patriots that love our country and realize that our political tendencies rely on our moral convictions as a people. We reject the cheapening of life, and destroying the traditional family. We refuse to allow the state to take our children from us and indoctrinate them. And we reject laying down our arms so that an enemy can incrementally invade and alter our society.
This nation was founded on strong moral values, and America prospered because we always used our moral compass as our guide. And tonight, here at the Heading Right Convention, we have joined together to tell the nation that we will fight to protect it, and we will defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

And the trueness of the direction of our moral compass is most apparent in the actions of our heroes, those soldiers and sailors that serve to protect us.

Greater love than this hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends.

Our fine members of the U.S. Military faces evil daily, and they fight that evil to defend our liberty.

But the battle rages here as well. You and I are the warriors on the homefront. The enemies of America have realized that to bring down our civilization all they must do is confuse the standards of moral behavior.

The moral compass of America is crucial to defend, for if it falls, so does America.

My Friends, defend her, fight for her. United We Stand, Combined We Kick Butt.

God Bless America, and God Bless You.

Michelle Malkin Attacked at DNC

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