Tax the rich is the new slogan for any politician running for reelection. However, it will never work out, and the rich will just leave, and the middle class will have to pay more taxes. Let’s look at some states targeting the wealthy and how that is affecting their cities or states. These are just a few.
California
They are proposing a “California 2026 Billionaire Tax Act” that will probably be on the ballot this November. If passed if will be a one-time 5% tax on any California resident worth over $1 billion. It affects around 200-300 people. California thinks this will solve its spending problem, allocating 10% to public health services, 10% to education, and 10% to tax administration. It won’t be enough to pay for public health services or anything else. Do a search on California’s total debt, and the results are over $1 trillion, and this does not even include unfunded pensions and healthcare liabilities. To pay things off, Californians will just need to write a check for $27,000 or more, depending on which liabilities they are billing you for.
The solution to fix the budget is to tax the rich. The problem with this solution is that they are all starting to leave California, and therefore, California will lose this income forever once they leave. Yes, they still may get 5% since they moved after January 1, 2026, but what about next year? Someone is going to have to pay the bill, and it is you, the people whom the politicians promise to make things cheaper for you.
They will be coming for your wallet; they will have no choice but to take it, because they need money to fulfill their promises. They will just say that if everyone pays a little more, we can balance the budget without having to cut services. Or they will just increase sales tax or other yearly fees to make up for the loss.
California is becoming too expensive to live in, and it keeps getting more expensive, as shown by its unemployment rate; it is only going to get worse. I wonder if they will be the first state to fail.
NYC
Mamdani has only been in office for a few months, and it is not going well for him. He campaigned on raising taxes on the rich, and the Albany council is not on board. Now what can he do? Raise property taxes, which affects everyone. He thinks he is going to freeze rent, but by increasing property taxes by almost 10%, rent will have to increase to pay for them.
On his first test, he failed and couldn’t get snow removed or trash picked up after a major snowstorm. People were very upset, so he hired people for the next snowstorm, but they had to show 2 forms of ID to shovel snow, but not to vote. You can’t make this stuff up.
Next, he is going to cut 5,000 new hires from the NYPD, not sure how that will affect crime. But don’t worry, he will have an excuse when crime increases or do a 180, he will have to, if he wants to get reelected.
His solution to fix the budget is to increase the spending from last year by $10 billion. He is already $12 billion in the hole, so he increases spending and blames the last administration for the shortage, putting NYC deeper into debt. I’m not saying it is his fault for the deficit, but I think he needs to face the shortage and fix it, not spend more.
Finally, he wants to open a government-run grocery store, which he knows will fail, since it has not been successful anywhere else. It will end up costing the people of NYC more money.
All I have to say to those who voted for him is that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and at some point, you will have to pay for it, and it will be more than just an increase in property taxes.
Virginia
Abigail Spanberger campaigned on making things more affordable. She won, and in the first two months, she increased taxes. Virginia lawmakers are considering over 50 tax increases. Let’s start again with taxing anyone who makes over $1 million a year. She wants them to pay an additional 10% tax on income and investment income over $500,000, another 3.8%. She is now going to start taxing sales tax on anything currently exempt and to charge a delivery tax for online orders and ride-share. She is increasing everyone’s taxes.
Boeing is moving out of Virginia to St. Louis. I wonder why. This will probably be the first of many companies to move; just look at California. She promised to lower costs for Virginia families, and she just increased them. “We will work to make everyday life more affordable for Virginians,” she said. How’s that working out for you, Virginia?
Let’s not forget that Virginia Senators just submitted a request for an almost 300% salary increase. They will go from $18,000 a year to $50,000 for a part-time job. At least they will be able to afford the increases.
Washington State
They too talk about affordability through universal school lunches, expanding child eligibility, and increasing the availability of lower-cost housing for lower-income families. Bob Ferguson has been in office for a year, and, like other states, he is now targeting the rich by raising taxes on them.
He wants a 9.9% “millionaire’s tax” on annual income over $1 million, effective Jan 1, 2028, designed to generate over $3 billion annually for state services. He thinks this will reduce taxes for working families and small businesses. He has stated that he will only sign a version that provides significant relief to Washingtonians, including a 30% expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit, sales tax holidays, and small-business tax exemptions.
It would not take effect until Jan 1, 2028, giving people earning over $1 million a year the opportunity to relocate. He thinks Washington state will generate $3.4 billion a year from 21,000 filers, but how many will leave? It would be interesting to see how much total tax revenue they currently collect from these people before the tax increase and how much they will lose per year if someone leaves the state.
He has already increased everyone’s taxes behind your back. Look at all the increases from hunting and fishing licenses, insurance taxes, and the WARP Act tax on certain packaging wrappings. Washington Tax Increases.
Conclusion
Remember, nothing is free; someone must pay for it. If the candidate promises free rent, free food, and free money, it does not exist because you need money to give these things out. By going after the rich, they will take their money elsewhere, and the state will collect less taxes. If they are business owners, they can move the company, causing job losses and reduced revenue.
The midterm elections will all be about affordability and taxing the rich. It may not affect you, but when the rich leave, someone will have to make up the difference, and that will be you.
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