California Wealth Tax Could Cost the State Up to $39 Billion

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe to examine California’s plan to impose a 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires, a policy that a Hoover Institution study suggests could ultimately drain the state of as much as $39 billion in lost revenue. With affluent residents already relocating from California, the panel weighs whether the measure will endure the ballot next week, why Governor Gavin Newsom opposes it, and how public-sector unions have contributed to the state’s spending challenges.

The discussion then turns to France, where growing unrest and a stagnant economy prompt questions about the lasting impact of steep taxes, broad welfare provisions, and pension obligations that increasingly weigh on younger generations. Next, they cover Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado’s return home after ten months in exile. Then, as midterm elections approach, the editors assess whether Trump’s tariffs, tensions with Iran, and accumulating corruption allegations could hand Democrats control of Congress. Finally, a listener asks whether today’s democratic socialist movement will eventually be remembered in the same way as the libertarian and Tea Party movements from the early 2010s.

 

0:00—California’s wealth tax proposal

13:02—Will France protests influence America?

22:50—Corina Machado returns to Venezuela.

31:19—Listener question on the DSA

44:40—2026 Midterm elections preview

58:34—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

Upcoming Reason Events

Reason Versus – Authoritarianism Is a Right-Wing Problem, November 10

 

Mentioned in the Podcast:

“Will the Wealth Tax Fail?” by Liz Wolfe
“France Is a Warning to California’s Tax-the-Rich Crowd,” by Veronique de Rugy
“California’s ‘Wealth Tax’ Could Cost the State $39 Billion,” by Eric Boehm
“Report: California’s Proposed ‘Billionaire Tax’ Is Based on Bad Research,” by J.D. Tuccille
“A Wealth Tax Built on Billionaires Who Aren’t Really Billionaires,” by Veronique de Rugy
“New Book Says Jared Kushner Funneled Money to Middle East Mercenaries. Kushner Denies It.” by Matthew Petti
“Trump’s Tariffs Are Politically Toxic,” by Eric Boehm
“The Democrats’ Socialist Moment,” by Matt Welch
“Family Separation Drama Fjord Is a Haunting Depiction of Unchecked State Power,” by Peter Suderman

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