Mike Jackson

Founder & CEO Worksite (acquired by @aconex) | Founder & CEO Marketron International (acquired by WicksGroup)

[Hunter Horsley @HHorsley]

This is a 2 minute video about taxing the wealthy.

There is no mention of programs it will fund. Or why the tax dollars are needed. Or what the money would be used for. Or how those less fortunate could be supported to themselves become wealthy.

The benefits are no longer the point.

The implicit message is about punishment. Punishing those doing well is now good politics.

Sign of the times —

[piercheney @LVpolitic]

I’m not a big election fraud guy - but the 24,000 ballot drop showing Spencer Pratt didn’t receive a single vote, is just not realistically possible. Irreducible error rate is even more prevalent when functional literacy of LA is 50%.

[Peter B @realpeteyb123]

Ok… most of you know I was in the organic baby formula business, but what you don’t know is I dabbled in diapers as well.

I also know this baby2baby “non profit” and have had past interactions with them.. I’ll leave that out for now..

Let’s dive into this absolute grifting nonsense. Prepare to be shocked.

California is about to spend $20 million of taxpayer money to give 100,000 newborns 400 diapers each through Baby2Baby.

Do the math with me:
100,000 babies × 400 diapers = 40 million diapers

$20,000,000 ÷ 40,000,000 = $0.50 per diaper!!!!!

Now walk into any Costco in California and you can buy the same quality diapers for .12 to .15 cents each!

That’s $48 to $60 for 400 diapers.
So the state is paying 8–10x more per diaper than a regular family buying in bulk.

They could’ve just handed every low-income new mom $100 cash and told her to go to Costco. She’d get more diapers, better ones if she wanted, and still have money left for formula, wipes, or whatever the hell she actually needs.

But nah… that wouldn’t let Gavin and his connected “nonprofit” girls running the show there cut ribbons, take photos, do galas and be friends with celebrities and brag about the “first-in-the-nation” program while skimming their cut for “administration” and “partnerships.”

This is peak government stupidity!!!

Spend way more money to feel good and look good, instead of just trusting parents with their own damn money.
We’re not helping babies. We’re funding another bloated nonprofit-government grift.

Math doesn’t lie. The diaper math is brutal.

What a scam and a joke!!!!!

[Jeffrey Gundlach @TruthGundlach]

I’m told the California Attorney General’s wife has introduced legislation that is being interpreted as making exposing fraud a crime.

What I would propose is legislation eliminating all California income taxes until fraud is greatly reduced.

Why this defense of fraud?

[Rothmus 🏴 @Rothmus]

🎯

[James Woods @RealJamesWoods]

Setting aside whether her childhood accident was an unconscious act for the moment, her astonishing theory that most of the rapists, murderers, and child molesters in prison acted “accidentally” is mind-boggling. More importantly it is a powerful lesson about the liberal mind. We can now be assured that this opportunistic little piece of work, like so many of her ilk, will invariably weep for the criminal, but consider his victims, if she indeed considers them at all, as collateral damage. One thing is clear: she’s an even more dreadful monster than her vile, dangerous, deranged husband.

[M.A. Rothman @MichaelARothman]

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒𝐎𝐌: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐒

Gavin Newsom wants to run for President. Before a single ballot is cast, every American deserves to see what he did to the largest state in the union.

I did a little research and coalesced everything into this post from public resources.

𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬:

𝟐𝟏𝟔,𝟎𝟎𝟎 net population loss in 2024–25 alone (U.S. Census Bureau). Over 𝟏.𝟒 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 residents fled since 2020 (CA Dept. of Finance). The largest outbound migration of any state in America. People aren't leaving paradise — they're escaping a dumpster fire with a coastline.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟐𝟒 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫:

California spent $𝟐𝟒 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 on homelessness over five years. That's roughly $𝟏𝟑𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. The result? Homelessness 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 by 30,000 people — from 151,000 to over 181,000. That's a 𝟓𝟑% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 since 2013 (HUD).

It gets worse. The California State Auditor found the agency responsible for tracking outcomes — the Interagency Council on Homelessness — 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏. No consistent method to collect outcome data. Didn't verify accuracy of data from municipalities. The state database was riddled with deleted records and test entries. They burned through $24 billion and 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭.

And in San Jose and San Diego, over 𝟖𝟓% of homeless placements were into temporary housing — not permanent. 𝟒𝟎% of those people ended up back on the street. A $24 billion revolving door.

𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝:

$𝟏𝟐𝟔 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 for a high-speed rail that was originally budgeted at $33B and has moved 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 (CA HSR Authority). A $𝟕𝟑 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 budget deficit in 2024–25 (LAO). That's not governance. That's arson with a spreadsheet.

𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬:

Chevron, SpaceX, Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Charles Schwab — all relocated their headquarters to Texas. Over 𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 fled California between 2018 and 2024 (Hoover Institution). These aren't strip malls. These are the engines of the American economy voting with their feet.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐱-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥:

California charges the highest income tax in America — 𝟏𝟑.𝟑% — and gets half its income tax revenue from the top 1% of earners. So what happens when you squeeze the golden goose? It leaves.

In 2022, Newsom saw a one-time post-COVID revenue spike — fueled by federal relief money, not real growth — and declared a 𝐛𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐬 "$𝟗𝟕.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬" that never appeared in any actual budget document (CalMatters). He went on a spending spree. Two years later, the state quietly admitted to a $𝟏𝟔𝟓 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 revenue forecasting error over four years (LAO). Personal income tax collections crashed 𝟐𝟓% in a single year. The "Big Three" revenue sources dropped 𝟐𝟏% (LAO).

And it's getting worse. An estimated $𝟏 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in billionaire wealth has left the state. Six billionaires alone — including @elonmusk and Larry Ellison — took roughly 𝟑𝟎% of California's aggregate billionaire wealth with them. Every dollar of capital gains they generate for the rest of their lives will now be taxed at 0% in Texas instead of 13.3% in Sacramento.

Sacramento's response? Propose a new wealth tax — which is accelerating the exodus even faster. The LAO projects deficits of $𝟑𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧/𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 for the remainder of Newsom's term. They are taxing themselves into bankruptcy.

𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢���𝐢𝐧𝐠:

Electricity costs 𝟖𝟕% 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 the national average (EIA). Gas at $𝟒.𝟖𝟓/𝐠𝐚𝐥 vs. $3.20 nationally (AAA). Californians pay more for the privilege of watching their state crumble.

𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 & 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞:

Prop 47 reclassified theft under $950 as a misdemeanor — retail theft surged so badly that Walgreens and Whole Foods shuttered locations in San Francisco. 𝟏𝟖𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ homeless residents — the largest unsheltered population in the United States (HUD).

This is Gavin Newsom's California. The population is fleeing. The businesses are gone. The billionaires took a trillion dollars with them. The budget is a crater built on a $165 billion fantasy. They spent $132,000 per homeless person and ended up with 30,000 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 of them. The trains don't exist. The lights barely stay on. And the shoplifters have more legal protection than the store owners.

This isn't a resume. It's a rap sheet.

And this is what Gavin Newsom is running on. This is all he has to offer. He can't point to a single crisis he inherited — he 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 them. Population loss, revenue collapse, a homeless crisis that got worse the more money he threw at it, a business exodus with no end in sight, and a budget held together with accounting gimmicks and borrowed time.

The question every voter should ask: is this the model you want copied to all 50 states? Because that's the only thing he's selling.

𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚. 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.

And no, the other 49 states don't want him either.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Wow

[Mike Jackson @MikeJ]

Newsom’s Climate False Alarms https://t.co/bNWBzTLv7w

[Reihan Salam @reihan]

Something I've been mulling, inspired by @EjmEj: Tax competitiveness is less about outmigration — though it certainly matters! — than about the dynamics of wealth formation.

Consider how new technologies improve productivity. Yes, existing firms adopt new technologies and make incremental gains over time. The biggest gains, however, come when new firms adopt new business models around the new technology. We saw this with electrification and the internet, we’ve seen this in the advent of remote-first firms, and we’re tentatively starting to see it in the domain of AI.

One can think about location decisions along similar lines, and this is something policymakers in New York City and other high-tax urban jurisdictions need to understand.

There is no question that middle-aged people with mortgages, established professional networks, etc., are sticky. (This is me, plus I don't drive, I hate humidity and change, and I love public transit and museums more than life itself.) They make location decisions in response to big shocks, positive or negative, macro and micro. For example, Covid and the sudden shift in norms around remote work represented a macro shock that made relocating a more attractive option. On the more personal, prosaic side, well-off people often relocate as they plan for retirement or a realization event, or to be closer to children or grandchildren.

Viewed through this lens, you don’t want to limit your analysis to, say, the absolute number of high-income households in a given jurisdiction. (“NYC has more millionaires today than we did a decade ago!”) Rather, you want to look to where the hockey puck is going.

I’d pay close attention to a city’s share of high-income households. Why? Because agglomeration matters, and if other cities are gaining market share while you’re losing it, that is going to shape location decisions for ambitious professionals going forward.

This is why I was so spooked by @EjmEj's excellent new report on the limits of New York’s “Tax the Rich” policy. Consider the shift in "market share" for wealth:

Since 2010, the Empire State’s share of all U.S. millionaire earners has dropped from 12.7% to 8.7%. Yikes.

You might also look to the aggregate capital gains of high-income households. Why? If you set an arbitrary threshold, e.g., households earning over $1M, you lose the distinction between households that are realizing massive capital gains and double-earner, salaried professional households that simply won’t represent the same revenue bonanza.

Lo and behold: In 2010, NY held 14% of the nation’s total capital gains realizations for millionaires, while Florida held 8%. By 2022, they essentially swapped places: Florida rose to 16.7% while New York plummeted to 8.9%.

The data shows that the "apex" of the pyramid—where income is most mobile—is shrinking fastest:

This trend is particularly stark: Between 2015 and 2022, NY’s count of filers earning above $10M decreased by 31% relative to the national total.

Moreover, for those earning $10M+, capital gains and nonwage sources constitute 83% of their income. Unlike wages, this wealth is highly portable and follows the taxpayer’s residence, not their office.

We are left with a revenue base that is incredibly fragile. Just 3,172 households now account for $10 billion in state income tax. On average, every 32 filers in that top bracket represent $100 million in revenue. If just 320 of those families decide the "Tax the Rich" climate is no longer worth it, it blows a $1 billion hole in the budget.

The real danger, though, isn't just who is leaving today; it’s who is deciding not to arrive tomorrow. Ambitious professionals and "remote-first" founders look at where talent is clustering, and if they see a jurisdiction losing its share of the national wealth base, they might conclude the environment is too hostile, unwelcoming, etc. They won't wait for the next tax hike to blow a hole in their own future; they will simply build the next great firms, and the revenue base that comes with them, wherever the puck is actually going.

https://t.co/fA7e0Pp3hF

[Boom 💥 @LoveCodeTrade]

Bay Area BART lost 55% of its riders since FY2019. It responded by hiring more people. Now it wants a billion-dollar sales tax from five counties to cover a $376 million deficit.

Pre-pandemic: 𝟰,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟭𝟴 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. FY2025: 𝟰,𝟲𝟬𝟬 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟱𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. That's 15% more staff serving half the customers. Per-employee comp is up 32%, from $140K to $171K.

Any private company that lost half its customers and then grew headcount would be bankrupt. BART just asks for a tax increase.

Here's some shocking examples of waste:

- $𝟴𝟬𝗠/𝘆𝗲��𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 57 employees doubled their salaries through OT.
- $𝟭𝟮𝟱𝗠 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗤 at $1,000/sq ft.
- 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿: $318K.
- 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: $258K. Who are they marketing to?
- 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀, down from 71% pre-pandemic.

The Connect Bay Area measure hits the November 2026 ballot asking for $980 million a year in new sales taxes. Bay Area residents already pay among the highest state and local taxes in the country.

Can anyone explain why we should pay more taxes to fund an organization that lost half its customers?

[⚡️David Blackmon⚡️ @EnergyAbsurdity]

🚨 A brutal op/ed from the WSJ Editorial Board exposes the pure energy absurdity unfolding in California under @GavinNewsom. "Newsom's Climate Policy Backfires" is a must-read.

Here are the key points of Newsom's energy catastrophe:

• California has already lost roughly 25% of its refinery capacity since Newsom became governor in 2019
• Refineries are shuttering left and right thanks to his relentless regulatory assault
• Result? The state is now importing more foreign #oil to keep the lights on and cars moving
• All while delivering higher energy costs for families, fewer jobs, and — wait for it — more #CO2 #emissions from all those tanker ships

This is peak California: Demonize domestic #refining, drive out producers (including U.K. oil interests fed up with the madness), then wonder why gasoline prices are insane and supply is shaky.
Newsom's "climate leadership" isn't saving the planet — it's just exporting emissions and importing pain for working Californians.
What a clown show.
Classic #EnergyAbsurdity on full display. Read the whole thing: https://t.co/hSs9DxTEFQ

[Mike Jackson @MikeJ]

Hmmm https://t.co/wObacuQV86

[Mike Jackson @MikeJ]

https://t.co/h2OSwkPTUm

[Mike Jackson @MikeJ]

@SenSanders Until any/all gov. entities can pass an audit outlining how/where tax payer funds are being (mis)used, no new taxes should be considered. Your efforts would be better served trying to stop government fraud and waste!

[James Gallagher @J_Gallagher4CA]

Ro , @RoKhanna your Party has 💯 control of everything in California. You could do it tomorrow, but you won’t. Challenge @GavinNewsom and @RobBonta and the whole cast of characters to do it. You won’t.

And if you can’t even do that, how in the world should ANYONE believe that you will spend this wealth tax wisely. You won’t.

The problem is actually not tax revenue, it’s progressive policies that don’t work. CA has implemented just about every progressive dream policy you desire. We already had a millionaire tax for mental health, and yet we have some of the greatest wealth disparity of anywhere and a mental health crisis on our streets. We have one of the highest unemployment rates. Face facts: your policies suck and California is Exhibit A. @chamath

[Mike Jackson @MikeJ]

👏

[david friedberg @friedberg]

why not just raise income tax rates?

because your real intent is not to just “provide healthcare”.

you’re masking that you are proposing the creation of, for the first time in the 250 years of this American republic, an organized government seizure of private property from citizens.

you’re calling it a “wealth tax” or a “billionaires tax” or “millionaires tax” or whatever nom du jour polls well. but at the end of the day, it’s the seizure of private property from citizens by the government. citizens that earned money, paid their fair taxes on those earnings (53% if they live in California) and are now being told they need to hand over after-tax assets because the government has failed to provide promised services with the revenue it’s collected, and are now re-casting their own failure to be a socio-economic inequity that must be justly resolved... a slippery slope that has never gone anywhere good (see economic effects in USSR, Cuba, Venezuela, France and Norway wealth tax etc.)

the American founders fled tyranny in Europe and this amazing nation was populated by immigrants (myself and your parents) from around the world not just looking for a “better life” but for a place where they could have freedom from tyrannical governments that can take what they want from private citizens. a great nation borne of property rights, the rule of law, and endowed freedoms to believe, speak, or act. these principles led to the greatest run of innovations, successes, and widespread increase in prosperity, for all citizens, ever seen.

the citizens, the individuals, not the institutions, delivered this progress. those who invented, who toiled, who bled, who sacrificed, who took risk and persevered, who led, and who changed the world, are not charlatans, kleptocrats, or oligarchs. they’re what made us all better off. prosperity is a measure of america’s success, not its failure.

it is your principle that is so offensive, as evidenced by the broad disdain for your flippant flirtation with the darkest of human fantasy - socialism. you and other neo-socialists have led so many of us to reflect on America’s history and what it is becoming. that now leads so many to consider, so unnecessarily, leaving their homes for a place where everyone stands up to shout down the principle you suggest. because if your ideas are now considered moderate, it’s clear this titanic is sinking.

that a “simple tax” of taking assets that have been earned, through toil and tribulation, rightly taxed, and preserved, should now be unjustly seized, is your solution to a problem of obvious government mismanagement and outright fraud, tells us that your true motivation lies not in giving people healthcare but in cutting down success and deleting the system of prosperity and opportunity for all.

i don’t care, and neither should anyone else, what the sum total market value of a private citizens private assets might be. it is none of my business and should be none of yours. because, again, once you open that pandora’s box, we might as well study Lord of the Flies … there is literally nothing stopping 51% of citizens demanding that their government go out and seize 100% of the private property of the 49%.

want to give healthcare to people in need? do your job and fix healthcare. make it affordable. want to be lazy about it? then do your job lazily and raise income taxes.

want to take private property from private citizens who have paid their fair share of taxes and legally earned their property, then honestly declare that it is envy, not inequity, that you strive to resolve…

[mark pincus @markpinc]

This is why we cant possibly support the Dem party. Their approach to the future is regulate and stop American cos from innovating in order to protect old jobs. This is like protecting the horse industry against cars. And this is from the us rep from silicon valley? Wtf?!

[Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes]

California Pastor says voters must vote No on Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 redistricting

“There are 54 seats, right, 43 are Democrat and only 9 are Republican. What has that gotten us?”

- Number one in homelessness
- Number one in poverty
- Number one in addiction
- Number one in income tax
- Number one in gas tax
- Number one in gas prices everywhere
- Number one in budget deficit
- Number one in retail theft
- Number one in illiteracy

“Friends, it’s time to start using our heads when we vote. Look at where voting with our hearts has gotten us. I want our beloved state to be number one, but not like that. So do I vote to add more Democratic seats for no other reason than a response to what’s happening in some other state? Nah. Look at what 80% Democratic representation has gotten us. I’m voting Educate yourself, friends.”

[Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr]

Sending this to the top. Let’s go.