Another Modest Proposal

by Joseph DeMaio, ©2023      

(Jan. 27, 2023) — In years past, your humble servant has on occasion penned a couple of “modest proposals,” here and here.  The “modest proposal” mechanism, of course, was originated by British author and satirist Jonathan (“Gulliver’s Travels”) Swift as a pointed satirical answer to the impoverished Irish: sell their children as food to the rich of Great Britain.  Urgh.

Today, we learn that the brain-dead zombies of Sacramento – also known as the legislative apparatchiks of California Governor Gavin (“how’s-my-hair-lookin’-today?”) Newsom – are proposing a new “wealth tax.”  The tax would be imposed, at first, on billionaire former Californians who have wisely fled that dystopian state for less tyrannical taxation climes.  Think Texas and Florida.  The taxability threshold would steadily drop from $1 billion to capture more former California “taxpayers.”  Seriously?

Quite apart from the monumental constitutional issues implicated by the proposal to impose such an extraterritorial tax on those who have escaped, the proposal simply underscores how detached from reality those who purport to “govern” California have become.

And, speaking of “governing,” the insects infesting the state capitol in Sacramento did not get there by force.  The voters of California, living primarily within 100 miles of the Pacific coastline rather than inland, and aided and abetted – potentially – by election fraud and security-breached voting machines, put them there. 

The current California legislature consists of 120 members composed of 40 “Senators” and 80 “Assemblymen.” Of those 120 people, 94 are Democrats and the remaining 26 are Republicans.  Rocket science, this is not: lunatic Democrats overwhelmingly – like by 80% to 20% – control the California legislature.  Add in a Democrat Governor – who was rumored to have been caught measuring the drapes in the Oval Office when Brandon was off in the Middle East – and you have a perfect “taxation typhoon” storm brewing. 

That typhoon now seeks to blow across numerous states to reach the erstwhile Silicon Valley refugee billionaire in Dallas or Palm Beach to pay for the lunatic “needs” of California…, like a looming unfunded state employee retirement burden of over $171 billion.  Yikes.  Why anyone with a trace of intelligence would now relocate to California is a mystery for the ages.

So maybe it is time for another “modest proposal.”  Since Democrats – in person, by mail, by cemeteries, by nursing homes and potentially tabulating machines – put Brandon in the Oval Office in the first place, how about visiting some accountability on those directly responsible for the catastrophic damage he has inflicted on the nation in just the first two years of his reign? 

Taking a cue from California, how about a one-time federal income tax surcharge on those who were registered as Democrats in 2020?  Those people can be easily identified from the voter registration rolls.  If you were registered as a Democrat in 2020, the presumption is that you voted for Brandon. 

That being the case, you should pay a surtax of, say, one-third of your gross 2020 income to partially compensate the nation for the damage Brandon has done.  If you are responsible for putting him there, you should be held “accountable” for his misdeeds, since impeachment is a long-shot…, especially if it is not attempted…, attention, Speaker McCarthy….

The presumption that you voted for Brandon would be a rebuttable one, of course.  But in order to protest and challenge the tax assessment, you would first (1) need to pay the tax under protest,  (2) timely – say, within 60 days of receiving the assessment from IRS – file suit for a refund and abatement of the surtax assessment, but only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Guam in Hagatna, Guam; and (3) if neither of those options were pursued, pay the assessment – in gold or certified funds – within 30 days of expiration of the 60-day window for a refund lawsuit.  Boom.

Memo to Democrats, especially those in the California Legislature: how’s that for accountability and “righteous retribution.”  Thanks for the “hint” about your proposed “wealth tax.”

This “modest proposal” might not pass in Congress, and would certainly be vetoed by Brandon…, but it is juicy food for thought…, no?