At last, a conservative news aggregator that does not bow to the woke right.
In this HotAir article, John Sexton reports that Governor Gavin Newsom is actively working to kill the proposed California Wealth Tax pushed by unions, despite earlier inaction, as powerful Democratic allies isolate its backers and betting markets signal its likely demise.
- Newsom has long opposed the so-called Billionaires Tax but has now joined labor unions, Planned Parenthood, and other groups in pressuring SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan to withdraw the measure before the late-June deadline.
- Supporters gathered 1.5 million signatures, nearly double the requirement, but a growing coalition of construction, teachers, police, and other unions has broken ranks to oppose it.
- Prediction markets like Polymarket slashed the odds of qualifying for the November ballot from 90% to just 31%, reflecting skepticism amid legal and political hurdles.
- The tax has already driven affluent residents like Google co-founder Sergey Brin to leave California, highlighting the flight of wealth that such policies accelerate.
- Billionaire-backed counter-initiatives, including one banning retroactive taxes and another redirecting funds to education, are positioned to outvote and nullify the wealth tax if it reaches the ballot.
- Recent defeat of a similar CEO-pay tax in San Francisco and polling around 50% support suggest the measure is vulnerable to well-funded opposition.
- Regan has a history of using ballot measures as negotiating leverage, and recent union statements indicate openness to alternatives addressing federal funding shortfalls.
- The episode reveals fractures within California’s Democratic power structure, as even Newsom recognizes the economic damage a successful wealth tax would inflict on the state.
Read the full story:
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/06/16/could-gavin-newsom-kill-the-california-wealth-tax-n3816029
