{"id":29730,"date":"2026-10-05T14:52:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T22:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/?p=29730"},"modified":"2026-10-05T16:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T00:15:26","slug":"why-a-wealthy-retiree-considering-permanent-residency-in-california-encourages-voters-to-support-the-billionaires-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/archives\/29730","title":{"rendered":"Why a Wealthy Retiree Considering Permanent Residency in California Encourages Voters to Support the Billionaires Tax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest Commentary<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

I am probably not the person many opponents of California’s proposed billionaires tax expect to hear from. I am retired. I have accumulated significant wealth over a lifetime of work, investment, and prudent financial planning. I am also considering making California my permanent home. By most political assumptions, I should be strongly opposed to a tax directed at the wealthiest residents. Instead, I find myself encouraging Californians to support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This position does not come from ideology. It comes from observing how wealth is actually created, how families make long-term residency decisions, and what has allowed California to become one of the most prosperous places in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Real Engine Behind California’s Success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A great deal of the debate surrounding Proposition 40 centers on the fear that wealthy individuals will leave California. The assumption seems to be that high-net-worth people make residency decisions almost exclusively on the basis of taxes. While taxes certainly matter, that explanation is far too simplistic. Economists have a term for what really drives prosperity in places like California: the agglomeration effect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The idea is straightforward. Talent attracts talent. Employers locate where skilled workers are available. Investors seek out concentrations of innovation. Universities, businesses, research institutions, infrastructure, and workers become interconnected. Once those networks form, they create opportunities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. California is perhaps the greatest example of this phenomenon in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Silicon Valley did not become the world’s leading technology cluster because it offered the lowest taxes. It succeeded because engineers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, universities, and businesses chose to locate near one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The same forces helped create Hollywood, the state’s biotechnology industry, its logistics networks, and one of the most productive agricultural systems on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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California produces more than three-quarters of America’s fruits and nuts and nearly half its vegetables while maintaining an economy that represents approximately 14% of the entire U.S. economy.[1][2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These economic ecosystems are not fragile. They were created over generations and continue to attract talent from around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why Retirees Still Choose CaliforniaThose same forces influence retirement decisions more than many people realize.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When retirees decide where to spend the next chapter of their lives, they rarely consider taxes alone. They consider healthcare, climate, cultural amenities, transportation, safety, proximity to family, and whether their children and grandchildren are likely to build careers nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That is one reason California remains attractive despite its relatively high income taxes. My own situation illustrates another reality that receives surprisingly little attention in the current debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California currently has neither a state estate tax nor a state inheritance tax. By contrast, states such as Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Illinois impose state-level estate taxes.[3] For many affluent retirees, this matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Estate planning is not merely about preserving wealth. It is about ensuring that assets accumulated over a lifetime can be transferred efficiently to children and grandchildren. California’s lack of a state estate tax is already a significant advantage in that regard. This is one reason I believe voters should seriously consider supporting the billionaires tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why Supporting the Billionaires Tax Makes Sense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

California faces real budget pressures, particularly in healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Supporters of Proposition 40 argue that the measure is intended to help offset major federal healthcare funding reductions affecting Medi-Cal and related programs. Estimates cited by supporters suggest the measure could raise roughly $100 billion through a one-time assessment on a relatively small number of billionaires.[4][5]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Critics are correct to note that this is not a permanent solution. Even supporters describe the measure as a temporary response to a larger challenge. The revenue generated would not permanently replace federal funding losses over the long term.[6] Yet rejecting the measure does not eliminate the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California would still need to decide how to address healthcare funding pressures. Future solutions could involve spending cuts, broader tax increases, taxes on high-income earners, healthcare financing mechanisms, or entirely new revenue proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Overlooked Concern: The Possibility of a State Estate Tax<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As someone considering permanent residency in California, one possibility concerns me more than a one-time billionaire tax: the eventual creation of a state estate tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Organizations such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have publicly argued that states should maintain, strengthen, or reinstate estate taxes as progressive revenue sources.[7][8]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I am not suggesting California is on the verge of adopting such a policy. There is currently no major statewide campaign advocating for a California estate tax. However, if healthcare funding pressures persist and lawmakers continue searching for revenue sources, it is reasonable to expect that policymakers will eventually examine every available option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A state that today imposes no estate or inheritance tax could, in the future, become interested in proposals that target inherited wealth. That possibility strikes me as more consequential than the current billionaires tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A one-time tax directed at a very small number of extraordinarily wealthy individuals is fundamentally different from permanently altering California’s estate-planning landscape. If voters reject targeted solutions today while funding pressures continue tomorrow, they should not be surprised if future leaders begin examining broader alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Bigger Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For me, the question is ultimately not about whether billionaires should pay more taxes. It is about preserving the conditions that made California successful in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California’s greatest asset is not its favorable weather, its famous coastline, or even its remarkable industries. It is the concentration of talent, institutions, infrastructure, universities, innovators, and opportunities that continue to draw people from around the world. Economists call it the agglomeration effect. Most Californians would simply call it opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That opportunity created enormous prosperity for millions of people, including many of us who are now retired. Preserving it requires investment. It requires functioning healthcare systems, strong institutions, and a recognition that extraordinary fortunes are often built upon public assets that benefit everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone who hopes to become a California resident and leave a legacy to future generations, I would prefer that California address today’s challenges in a targeted manner rather than create pressure for more sweeping tax changes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why, despite having every personal reason to oppose it, I hope you vote yes on the billionaires tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Footnotes & Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/strong> California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Agricultural Production Statistics. California grows more than three-quarters of U.S. fruits and nuts and nearly half of U.S. vegetables. (https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/statistics\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/strong> Public Policy Institute of California, California’s Economy<\/em>; and Governor of California, 2025 GDP reports. California’s economy represents approximately 14% of U.S. GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/strong> State estate tax comparison resources showing California imposes neither a state estate tax nor an inheritance tax, while states such as Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Illinois impose estate taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/strong> CalMatters, A tax on billionaires qualified for the November ballot. Five things to know about the measure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/strong> California Budget & Policy Center, Billionaire Tax Explained: What Proposition 40 Would Mean for California.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/strong> California Medical Association, CMA Opposes Billionaire Tax Act, Citing Concerns Over Long-Term Medi-Cal Funding.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/strong> Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, State Estate Taxes: A Key Tool for Broad Prosperity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/strong> Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, State Estate and Inheritance Taxes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Commentary I am probably not the person many opponents of California’s proposed billionaires tax expect to hear from. I am retired. I have accumulated significant wealth over a lifetime of work, investment, and prudent financial planning. I am also considering making California my permanent home. By most political assumptions, I should be strongly opposed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[66],"tags":[356,517,310,411,370,116],"class_list":["post-29730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evaluation","tag-american-dream","tag-billionaire","tag-california","tag-democracy","tag-prestige","tag-sailinganarchy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4nQeu-7Jw","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/img_3033-1-scaled.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29730"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29748,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29730\/revisions\/29748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eskimo.com\/~mighetto\/murrelet\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}