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.

    • Alteon@lemmy.world
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      It’s grandstanding…but it pisses off the Orange Turdburgler so I can’t complain too much.

  • Et Al@lemmy.world
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    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.

  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    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.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    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?

      • rylock@lemm.ee
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        Although, from a Russian perspective, that would be an ideal outcome. I’d put nothing past these traitorous criminals.

  • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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    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.

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    CA is the forth largest economy; it would destroy the red state fuckheads if they stopped paying federal taxes. The rest of us follow suit and we defund the motherfuckers stinking up the government.

    If you are sending our military against OUR OWN FUCKING PEOPLE we should not be PAYING FOR IT. My taxes don’t go to that fascist bullshit

    🖕🤬🖕 Fuck drumpf and every bootlicker that got him (probably illegally) elected

  • Katana314@lemmy.world
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    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.

    • Pelicanen@sopuli.xyz
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      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 ego

    • Sheep Herder@lemmy.world
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      I 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).

      • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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        But if it’s not Putin’s fault,

        1. US people would have to face the reality that there’s stupid people among them
        2. and there’d be no “external threat” to distract from internal problems!
    • angrystego@lemmy.world
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      It might put California on the track to surviving Trump’s destruction and becoming a civilized country opposed to Putin, unlike other US states.

  • TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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    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.

    • Whitebrow@lemmy.world
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      This is, hands down, the funniest version of this that I have seen.

      I even heard it in his voice goddamnit.

      This is art.

  • 4grams@awful.systems
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    Been saying that we’re headed for balkanization since the clown won his first term. Not seeing any reason to change that prediction.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
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      balkanization

      For uninformed people like myself:

      Balkanization is the process of a country or region fragmenting into smaller, often hostile units, typically driven by ethnic, cultural, religious, or geopolitical differences. The term originates from the Balkan Peninsula, a region that has experienced significant fragmentation throughout history, and the term is now used more broadly to describe similar processes elsewhere.

    • sheogorath@lemmy.world
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      I’m not looking forward for the chaos preceding the emergence of the next superpower if US balkanization happens.

      • j0ester@lemmy.world
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        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.

        • P00ptart@lemmy.world
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          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.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        Breaks down when you start seeing all the blueberries in the ketchup and you realize that’s where huge portions of the population actually live.

        So much of that red state territory is vacant real estate. A big chunk more is functionally disenfranchised (Indian reservations, migrant labor communities, large prison populations).

        This illustrates regions of political control. But it is in no way reflective of homogeneous popular opinion.

        • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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          Shit, even doing shades of purple without getting more granular than the state level would change the map drastically. This winner take all bullshit is the dumbest part of the electoral college.

          • Bravo@eviltoast.org
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            America needs ranked choice voting. Unfortunately the GOP has been banning it in every state they can.

    • twice_hatch@midwest.social
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      I would really like to come visit if the road border near Detroit is still relatively safe. My passport and driver’s license have the same name and gender so I might have a chance.

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        They might still get you on skin colour, ethno-linguistic origin of name, left-wing political affiliations, religious affiliations (or lack thereof), type of employment or specific employer, perceived accent, or a boarder agent just having a very bad or a very good day.

    • NeonNight@lemm.ee
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      I’m neither rich nor skilled enough :( If I was I’d be up there like yesterday

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      I don’t think there’s really a way to do this, since federal taxes are paid directly to the fed without state involvement. This is just to poke the bear, which I am all for.

      • turtlesareneat@discuss.online
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        The hypothetical way to do it is severely penalize companies within California that pay federal tax. Make it so financially burdonsome they have to relocate or stop paying federal tax of their own accord. This is just what’s been suggested before when this has come up.

      • GuyFawkes@midwest.social
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        Good. Keep poking until he has a heart attack. If he recovers, rinse and repeat until we get it right.

        • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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          I’m all for it too, but keep in mind that successors to dictators are never better; only worse. It only ever gets worse.

          ~Hide your kids. Hide your couch!~

          • GuyFawkes@midwest.social
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            Yeah but there seems to be something about this fucking guy. I don’t think his successor will have the same draw.

            • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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              This dictator is merely a puppet; plain and simple. The real Palpatine is someone else. Maybe it’s Putin, or maybe it’s Thiel. We haven’t gotten to that episode yet.

              • samus12345@sh.itjust.works
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                But this puppet is who the cultists at the bottom support. They won’t get their support for anyone else so easily, if they even need them at that point.

                • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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                  I would argue that now that the GOP has all three branches of government, Darth Trump is expendable.

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        I’ve been thinking about this, and I’m afraid I agree. I’m not sure how you could enforce this. Paying federal tax seems like a personal choice and the consequences would be felt by individuals (tax evasion charges, unless trump manages to get it treated as a terrorist act). I’d be interested to see if the state was actually offering to shield CA citizens from being arrested by federal agents or subpoenaed by federal courts.

        Also, for the most part the Fed already has our money, right? The majority of that federal tax is withheld from paychecks and goes directly to the Fed…

        • Furbag@lemmy.world
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          You can withhold paying your federal taxes from your paycheck. Most people don’t because they don’t want to get stuck with a big tax bill in April with no way to pay it if they spent that money or lost it on a bad investment. if enough people all did that at once, regardless of state, it could put a big financial burden on Trump. The government heavily relies on this steady source of income, and unless you make a lot of money, you are probably getting a federal return every year, which means you gave the U.S. Government an interest free loan of sorts.

          • malank@lemm.ee
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            You also get hit with an underpayment penalty if you do this and don’t pay estimated taxes too.