New York legislators on Thursday approved a sweeping tax-reform package pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that had no public hearings, no discussion, no town halls. Some legislators were caught out of town unable to vote on it.
In California, as we reported on "The Kudlow Report" just the other day, Gov. Jerry Brown wants people to sign a petition to put a measure on the ballot in November that would tax more successful Californians at a higher rate.
Both governors call these two measures “fair,” but these are indicative of populist politicking and pandering. Just exactly who benefits from this? It sounds like politicians in this election season are saying “no new taxes, except for those people.” Both Cuomo and Brown just don’t get it.
Super successful New Yorkers and Californians will not just sit back and accept to pay more taxes. They will figure out a way to move themselves and their companies to states with lower tax rates, such as Connecticut or Washington State. It’s happening already. More and more titans of industry have moved themselves, their families, and their billion-dollar hedge fundsto Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Do the math and you’ll see this idea of taxing the small number of those making $2 million or more won’t bring in the same amount of taxes as taxing the entire population more equitably. I don’t want to pay more taxes myself, but I’d feel better knowing everyone was paying it equitably instead of the “all are equal, but some are more/less equal than others.”
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