Two fascinating facts emerge. First, Californians making more than $48,000 a year pay a higher rate of state income tax (9.3%) than do millionaires in 47 other states. Second, ca. 40% of Californians pay no state income tax at all and ca. 25% are on Medicaid, indications of poverty.
The middle class are leaving California but the poor are staying. Thus, says Kotkin:
The state is run for the very rich, the very poor, and the public employees.Obvious problem: you cannot tax the very rich enough to support both the public employees and the very poor. Aside: it takes many heavily armed public employees (police, deputy sheriffs, highway patrol, prison guards) to control a large, poor population. Result: California = Greece; it's likely to become bankrupt.
