The Big Picture

As states brace themselves for the revenue nightmare that COVID-19 will bring, the California Assembly is set to consider legislation that could irreparably damage their economic future. Rep. Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) recently proposed Assembly Bill 2088 that would be the first wealth tax in the nation, imposing a 0.4 percent tax on net worth for individuals and joint filers worth over $30 million. As if that wasn’t bad enough, AB 2088 would completely soak the rich by raising the top income tax rate from the already astronomical 13.3 percent to an even more ludicrous 16.8 percent.

As the race for the White House continues to ramp up, the Democratic primary appears to have split fairly cleanly between two camps. The more moderate candidates -- led by Former Vice President Joe Biden -- form one contingent, and the self-described “progressives” -- championed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren(D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- form the other. While the moderate candidates have mostly stuck with a more traditional democratic platform, Warren and Sanders have led a significant portion of the caucus into a headlong plunge off the deep end.