California’s insane spending means epic debt and maybe an unpleasant surprise for wealthy residents

Massive spending has California politicians considering a wealth tax of some of the richest residents. But will that solve the problem or encourage people to move?

The proposed wealth tax is a sweeping measure, encompassing both full-time and part-time residents of California. Levying a 1.5% excise tax on worldwide net worth exceeding $1 billion, the bill aims to generate substantial revenue to fill the state's budget deficit. John H. Cox is an attorney, CPA and investment adviser, former Republican nominee for governor of California, and author of "The Newsom Nightmare: The California Catastrophe and How to Reform Our Broken System."

The difficult stock market in 2022 resulted in a revenue shortfall from projected capital gains taxes in a system that is so steeply dependent on the top 1% that fully half of all tax revenues are derived from that cohort. This makes state revenues irresponsibly deficient in troubled economic cycles.