As tensions escalate between California and the Trump administration over immigration, another potential battlefront is emerging over taxes.
The spat began with reports that the Trump administration is considering cutting funding for California’s university system, the largest higher education system in the nation with about 12% of all U.S. enrolled students.
In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote Friday afternoon in a social media post that California provides about $80 billion more in taxes to the federal government than it receives in return.
“Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom said.
I’m of the opinion that California, Oregon, and Washington should succeed and join Canada. Hell, New York and Massachusetts too if I’m indulging in this fantasy scenario.
All of new england pls
Ain’t happening anyway
California should just leave the US and form its own country.
just fucking do it, you asshole.
It’s grandstanding…but it pisses off the Orange Turdburgler so I can’t complain too much.
Cross posted to BoycottUnitedStates @ europe.pub
Hey, now we’re even boycotting ourselves!
…
More seriously:
Welp, I don’t see another option than lie down and roll over, but also, if Newsom actually does it, this will basically cause a civil war… or at best a ‘Russia is pacifying Chechen terrorists’ kind of situation.
Hope everyone has their popcorn / bugout bags ready.
stopping paying taxes is one of the essential elements of a “soft secession”, one where the state disintegrates from the federation, but not “all at once”, but “step by step”.
Maybe it was Trump’s plan after all to cause a number of states to secede? After all, GOP has talked about Texas’ secession for a while, iirc?
His plan to lose his most valuable states? Probably not. He’s just an idiot out of control.
Although, from a Russian perspective, that would be an ideal outcome. I’d put nothing past these traitorous criminals.
Project 2025 shows that the Republicans have at least one person with the ability to plan long term strategy.
The guys that are currently restoring confederate monuments would perform a takeover of the state by the federal government. US states no longer share core values, sometimes very hypocritically so.
This would be madlad behaviour if it actually happens
One thing that might be misunderstood here is that California not paying taxes wouldn’t harm Trump. Trump’s goal, made clear from a sum of lots of behaviors, is the destruction of the United States. Defaulting on its debt, zeroing its GDP, destroying the livelihood of its inhabitants, and ultimately killing its war machine, so that they can’t fight Putin’s army. California’s lack of payment may just hasten that goal.
I don’t think Trump is as much of a lackey that’s following the plan as he is a useful idiot that’s easy to manipulate. I believe that Trump believes that the US is the biggest and the best - it suits the same image he has of himself as the biggest and best leader - but he’s so dumb and narcissistic that he won’t realize that he’s being led on a leash.
I don’t think Trump consciously wants to destroy America, I think he wants to make it what he considers to be great (a militarily powerful dictatorship built on worshiping him), but he’s absolutely fine with making it weaker in the interim if it either:
A. Makes him gain something
B. Feeds his egoI don’t think he is a puppet of Putin. I think he really, really likes money and power, that’s it. He does things to further his own grip of the country, thus increasing his power. Or, he does things to increase his wealth. Nothing more. He likes authoritarian leaders because they have more of a hold on their respective countries (a weird form of respect), or because they give him money (or expensive planes).
But if it’s not Putin’s fault,
- US people would have to face the reality that there’s stupid people among them
- and there’d be no “external threat” to distract from internal problems!
They’ll find a way to blame someone or something else. Cognitive dissonance and all.
It might put California on the track to surviving Trump’s destruction and becoming a civilized country opposed to Putin, unlike other US states.
If just New York and California did this, it would cripple some red states
All red states. It would cripple the country and thus ALL red states.
Good. Even my state provides more, than we get. Fuck em! Let them have their Jesus Land. That will make America great, no red states.
Same, I’m in one of the few red states that actually makes money. But honestly I’m at the point where I’m just like whatever. Fuck it, right? Just burn it down so our rot doesn’t infect the rest of the world. Seriously, this would be a mercy killing at this point. Please don’t let this spread.
Unfortunately not something really he has a lot of control over, though he could start a movement
This is, hands down, the funniest version of this that I have seen.
I even heard it in his voice goddamnit.
This is art.
I honestly don’t know how this is even possible. Doesn’t the withholding go directly to the IRS? The issue of federal income tax is between the federal government and the taxpayer.
Yes. California would need to split off its banking system.
Ok, this is an idea I had after reading numerous comments on this post. You’re all asking how this would work … hear me out.
California declares its own currency, the “California dollar”. Wages earned in California dollars wouldn’t be taxed like US Dollars.
There are some issues to work out; I think the IRS does tax your foreign assets … some … but I think that this scheme could work.
Economically, it would be an uphill battle. The US dollar is strong because it’s backed by decades of sound monetary policy (that will go right out the window when jerome powell’s tenure is up) and a AAA credit rating for treasury bonds (that will disappear when the Republicans in congress finally drive us off a cliff) . A Californian dollar would be untrustworthy for a while as its central bank would need time to build trust
What if they got into a monetary union with Canada and linked Calidollar with the Canadollar with the same value and entirely interchangeable the way the Belgian and Luxemburg franc used to work?
Soundish monetary policy. In the end it’s a fallacy that has never even been tried on a theoretical level. We just did it and people were like, ok. We’ve been kept afloat by monetary and military threats. The policy makes no sense on any level, that infinite debt is perfectly fine or normal.
MOTHERFUCKING DO IT
Stop bending the knee to a felon rapist traitor who uses the military to assault American citizens.
Stop providing welfare to failing red states who elect felon rapist traitors who target blue states.