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- California faces one-two punch as voters reject wealth tax and billionaires eye ...
California voters rejected a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth, turning back a measure supporters said could raise tens of billions of dollars for health care. The tax would have applied to people who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026, with payments spread over five years.The defeat came as some of the state’s wealthiest residents warned they could leave California over the proposal. The state has one of the nation’s largest billionaire populations and relies heavily on high earners to fund its budget, making the potential loss of additional wealthy residents a concern for state finances.Supporters, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West, said the tax could help offset Trump administration cuts to health care and food assistance. California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the tax, arguing that California should address wealth inequality without driving billionaires out of the state.CALIFORNIA WEALTH TAX PROPOSAL HEMORRHAGES $1T AS BILLIONAIRES FLEEVoters were also weighing Proposition 42, a separate measure backed by tech billionaires to block new taxes on personal property. It was leading, and approval could make future efforts to tax billionaire wealth harder, though supporters have vowed to keep pushing.Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute, said concerns that the tax could expand beyond billionaires and drive wealthy residents away may have hurt its support."A lot of messaging went around this: ‘You’re next.’ And I think that messaging resonated with people. This is most likely not a one-time tax. It’s not going to just stick to billionaires," he said.CEO SAYS DOING BUSINESS IN STATE ‘SUCKS’ AS COMPANY HEADS TO TEXAS AMID CALIFORNIA EXODUSWinegarden said voters may also have feared that billionaire departures would leave less money for the state budget."People were nervous that you’re going to lose money off of this because of billionaires leaving. The macroeconomic impacts of the wealth tax meant that the rest of the budget was going to have less money. I think that message got out there, and I think that helped," he said.Winegarden said defeating the tax could halt departures tied to the proposal, but he argued California remains uncompetitive on taxes."Without the wealth tax, the continued bleeding from a wealth-tax perspective should stop. Now, California has been, from a tax-competitiveness perspective, very uncompetitive."RED STATES HAVE SPENT DECADES DOMINATING A KEY CORNER OF THE ECONOMYHis comments point to broader concerns that… [TheTopNews] Read More.3 hours ago - Why the Iran War Has Spurred Both Clean Energy and Fossil Fuels
The shock to global oil prices has caused a surge in demand for electric vehicles while propelling a race for immediate, secure power supplies. [TheTopNews] Read More.5 hours ago - Doctors Absorb the Stunning Failure of Two High-Profile Heart DrugsBy every measure, the drugs were no better than placebos, full data revealed on Saturday. Was it the fault of the design of the studies, or our very hypotheses about heart disease? [TheTopNews] Read More.6 hours ago
- How a Duck Named Olivia Helped Pass D.C.’s Foie Gras BanInitiative 86, which bars the force-feeding of birds and the sale of foie gras, passed handily but restaurateurs and prominent chefs are preparing for a fight. [TheTopNews] Read More.6 hours ago
- Poppi founders are going after PepsiCo’s Gatorade with new beverage startu...
Poppi founders Allison and Stephen Ellsworth are launching Jetty, a hydration brand selling bottled drinks and powders at Whole Foods, Target and Amazon. [TheTopNews] Read More.7 hours ago - House Republicans demand answers from Nvidia CEO over reported Chinese spy tiesHouse Republicans are demanding answers from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about his reported relationship with a Chinese intelligence asset, escalating scrutiny of whether Beijing gained access to sensitive U.S. technology through the chip giant’s business ties.The request follows a New York Times report that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and Megaspeed executive, had been gathering information for Beijing and developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang.The Times reported that President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings about a year ago but chose not to act.SUSPECTED CHINESE INTELLIGENCE ASSET GAINED ACCESS TO NVIDIA CEO JENSEN HUANG: REPORTThe letter, dated Wednesday and released Thursday, says recent reports raise national security concerns about China’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information.The lawmakers are seeking details about Jensen Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s security protocols against foreign espionage.The letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla.; Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich.; and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark. They invited Huang to an in-person joint briefing on Nov. 18, one day after Nvidia is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings."China’s access to that sensitive U.S. tech is core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress," the lawmakers wrote, adding that Congress must determine whether U.S. national security was put at risk.HOW US CEOS QUIETLY TEAMED UP WITH TRUMP TO GAIN LEVERAGE OVER CHINAIt is unclear if Huang will attend. Nvidia did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.The Times reported that U.S. officials initially did not believe Jensen Huang knew Alice Huang was allegedly gathering intelligence for China. It remains unclear whether that assessment has changed. Huang has not received a defensive briefing from the government, according to the Times.The scrutiny comes as Jensen Huang has lobbied the Trump administration to loosen restrictions on Nvidia chip sales to China.Earlier this year, Huang joined Trump’s business delegation to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was reportedly added to the trip at the last minute and secured a seat on Air Force One, underscoring Nvidia’s role in U.S.-China trade and technology talks.The delegation brought together executives from major U.S. companies with deep ties to China, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick. Financial leaders Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Larry Fink of BlackRock, Jane Fraser of… [TheTopNews] Read More.7 hours ago
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