Jerry Brown Defines a Millionaire

[Torie]

And here I thought the "the math" fad was dead. Actually a Millionaire is one earning about $33,000 a year, because over one's working lifetime of say 33 years, that equals a million too baby. Four years just has no clear limiting principle, while your working lifetime does - we all get old and just fade away.  What could be more clearly limiting than that?

First they came after the millionaires, and then the millionaires divided by four, and then by ten, and then they came after you.

[Torie]

That's a better definition than the asinine definition that appears to have somehow become the norm, where only people earning a million or more a year are millionaires. If you have more than a million dollars, you're a millionaire, no matter how long it took to collect that money.

Yes, they call that a wealth tax.

[Torie]

I don't know...could you please enlighten me?

Millionaires are the class enemy, Vosem.  They kill the rest, so the rest should return the favor.

Calling millionaires a coherent 'class' is a stretch, but I suppose you could say that. But millionaires certainly don't kill 'the rest'; slightly more than 80% of US millionaires are self-made, which means they've survived being part of 'the rest' to become millionaires themselves.

They certainly don't kill people -- in the US, the likeliest murderer is someone with a low income killing someone of similar social status.

I take it that you are not familiar with opebo's point of view on these matters.  Have fun.

[Torie]

First they came after the millionaires, and then the millionaires divided by four, and then by ten, and then they came after you.

oh man your sense of humor is cruel.

Comparing progressive taxation to the holocaust. Nice Torie.

I wasn't even thinking of the holocaust, and I am not even sure the phrase arose from that. In any event, I am surprised that you would think I am comparing it to that, which is ludicrous. Did you really think I equated the two Lief?  Rather, I was making the comment that first they go after the millionaires calling them rich, and before you know it, what is rich just keeps getting lower and lower because the government needs the money. My real point is that the middle class has a false sense of security with all this soak the rick talk, which isn't going to raise nearly enough revenue even if it happened. Either they are going to have to pay more too, a lot more, or we are going to have to cut back substantially on the entitlement state, including inter alia public employee defined benefit entitlements. It is either one or the other.

I suspect by the way, that getting the top rate in CA up to 13% will probably reduce revenue. Why? Because it will drive more capital gains recognitions out of the state, and more will find it worthwhile to stay outside the state for 187 days a year. In any event, it is not going to raise much. I suspect that rate hits a tipping point. Heck I could just put all my real estate into an LLC, move out of the state, and sell the LLC to someone. The state will not get that 13% on any gain from sale. Of course the higher the tax, the more incentive there is to sell not at all, and just hold on until you die, and get a step up in basis. If you need cash in the meantime, just borrow against the asset.

One thing leads to another - always.

[Torie]

Cuz after spending a million dollars on a house in California, people will totally commute to work for half the year from Texas to save a couple of percent in taxes Perhaps I should drive a few states away to get cheaper gas while I'm at it. And feigning ignorance of the Holocaust poem that has been repeatedly and without shame used by the right to compare Obama to Hitler is really lame. You made the comment. Stand by it.

I stand by it. I explained it. I regret that you think I "feigned" something. It was a turn of phrase used far more widely now (I really didn't know its origin, but that is beside the point), and to suggest that I am comparing anything involving what I think might be prudential tax policy to the holocaust amazes me.  Sure, some for the shorter term some will not be able to escape at least as to their earned income. Over time, CA will have to have rather substantial other advantages, to avoid a rather substantial exit. Thank God for Hollywood. It is a problem with federalism - one of the problems.

[Torie]

First they came after the millionaires, and then the millionaires divided by four, and then by ten, and then they came after you.

oh man your sense of humor is cruel.

Comparing progressive taxation to the holocaust. Nice Torie.

I suspect by the way, that getting the top rate in CA up to 13% will probably reduce revenue.

Isn't the top rate only around 10% right now, or even lower? And how much is Brown planning on raising them? I thought it was only 1%. Where is the 13% coming from?

From here.