Comic relief on billionaire tax

Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

March 25, 2026

We occasionally need some comic relief here at the Voice. If it comes with a dose of common sense, so much the better. This week we were treated to an SF Comicle letter to the editor from one of those people who write (and get published) often. She is apparently with a group called the Richmond Progressive Alliance and wants to weigh in on the possible “billionaire tax” that we may have to vote on in November. That figures. It’s hilarious.

Enact a billionaire tax

Regarding “Progressives love him. Billionaires hate him. Can a Berkeley professor pass California’s wealth tax?” (California, SFChronicle.com, March 18): Any billionaires with a shred of wisdom and ethics will support the proposed tax. Why?

Because even after paying the one-time 5% tax, someone with $1 billion in assets would still have $995 million — sufficient to continue living in opulent luxury — while contributing to state revenues for needed services and enhancing the economy.

The billionaires who oppose this tax show their true colors of mean-spiritedness and greed. The only argument they can offer against it is threatening to leave the state in droves.

Well, so be it. May they leave our beautiful state to those who value a more equitable use of resources that benefit all. The billionaire tax is a no-brainer. Don’t fall for the mean-spirited fear-mongering about it.

Marilyn Langlois, Richmond

OK, dear readers. Why is it hilarious? C’mon folks. 5% of $1 billion is $50 million, not $5 million. So the imaginary billionaire would be left with $950 million. Marilyn is only off by $45 million but expects us to take advice from her about taxes. Do you think the Comicle editors also failed 6th grade math? Or did they just publish it to see if anyone noticed? Matt Mahan is the only gubernatorial candidate with a D behind their name that has come out against the billionaire tax. He gets a gold star on his math quiz. Langlois gets an F. Same goes for her Econ 101 quiz.

Posted in Elections, General, Sacramento Stupidity, State Ievel issues

3 responses to “Comic relief on billionaire tax”

Amazing

March 25, 2026

Hey Siri what’s five percent of a billion?
Phinancier

March 25, 2026

This is the all time best math screw up by a couple of idiot reporters

No, Mike Bloomberg did not spend so much money on his failed presidential campaign that he could’ve given every American $1 million instead

Mike Bloomberg spent over $500 million during his short-lived campaign to become the Democratic nominee for president. And while that’s a lot of money, it’s nowhere near enough to make every American a millionaire.

Two reporters claimed otherwise on MSNBC in a clip that has gone viral on Twitter. “It’s an incredible way of putting it,” New York Times Editorial Board Member Mara Gay tells MSNBC’s Brian Williams in the clip. “It’s true, it’s disturbing, it does suggest, you know, what we’re talking about here, that’s there’s too much money in politics.”

The reporters were repeating a March 3 tweet from freelance journalist Mekita Rivas. “Bloomberg spent $500 million on ads,” Rivas tweeted. “The U.S. population is 327 million. He could have given each American $1 million and still have money left over. I feel like a $1 million check would be life-changing for most people. Yet he wasted it all on ads and STILL LOST.” Rivas has since set her Twitter account to private; her still viewable Twitter bio currently reads “I know, I’m bad at math.”

At the time of publication, the Census Bureau estimates that there are 329,363,945 people living in the United States. If Bloomberg did divide his $500 million campaign budget between every American, each person would get less than $2.
Joe

March 28, 2026

From today’s WSJ and our friends at the IRS:

The latest IRS data includes the adjusted gross income (AGI) of tax filers who moved between and within states between 2022 and 2023. Not surprisingly, overall migration ebbed from record highs in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid lockdowns. A mortgage lock-in effect and rising interest rates also resulted in fewer people moving.

Yet states with the highest taxes continue to lose the most income to other states. California lost on net $11.9 billion, mostly to Texas, Nevada and Arizona. Other big losers include New York ($9.9 billion), Illinois ($6 billion), Massachusetts ($4 billion), New Jersey ($2.6 billion), Maryland ($1.8 billion) and Minnesota ($1.5 billion).

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