California Dreamin’
By Holly A. Bell
A recent blog post by Michael provided 55 Reasons Why California Is The Worst State In America. Nonsense. California should be the model for the rest of the United States. Here are some reasons why:
1) The adoption of Proposition 30 gave California the highest marginal state income tax rate at 13.3%. That means with all Federal and State taxes combined the marginal tax rate for Californians will be 51.9% if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire. California is making great progress toward income equality by eliminating the ability of the middle and upper classes to build wealth, and thereby eradicating greed.
2) California has the highest gasoline tax rate in the country and taxes carbon emissions to ensure their state has the cleanest air in the world. Implementing these taxes nation-wide would ensure the U.S. has the same air quality as Los Angeles.
3) The state has the most expensive traffic tickets in the nation, virtually eliminating speeding. You can see evidence of this on traffic cameras as responsible rush hour commuters restrain their driving to idle speed.
4) California has the highest paid teachers in the U.S. and by focusing on teacher pay rather than student achievement (students rank 48th in math and 49th in reading), they have the best teachers in the country. By adopting this policy nationwide, we could attract teachers who desire a high salary and level the playing field for student achievement by eliminating rankings.
5) While California has only 12% of the U.S. population, 33% of Americans receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) live there. By adopting California’s tax policies nationwide we could assure that 100% of Americans on all forms of temporary assistance are able to transition to permanent assistance.
6) California has the highest “minimum corporate tax” in the country, operating costs for businesses are 23% higher than the national average, and the small business failure rate is the highest in America at 69%. By migrating California’s business environment—including their tort and regulatory policies—nationwide, we will be able to attract more high-tech businesses to the U.S. who keep their servers and profits off-shore, thereby giving their workers the freedom to carry the majority of the state and national tax burden. After all, we’re all in this together.
And finally, California has Jerry Brown and what could be better than that!
I can’t tell if this is supposed to be sarcastic or not.
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This article is rubbish. A claim like, “California is making great progress toward income equality by eliminating the ability of the middle and upper classes to build wealth, and thereby eradicating greed.” is unsubstantiated and, furthermore, false. Please keep your misinformed opinions in Alaska.
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Hmmm…some people obviously don’t recognize satire when they see it.
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Instead of “The Tolling Bell” it should be “The Trolling Bell”
🙂
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Joe: I could do that if I always used satire to make my point, but I don\’t 🙂
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Great piece! I recently moved out of California for many of these reasons! That state was crushing me financially and I didn’t see any positive results from it! You should also mention the DMV fees which are absurd!
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Excellent article! Personally, I will not purchase anything from California for these very reasons. Even though it is my own, personal boycott, any dollar I can keep from there is better spent elsewhere.
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