ICYMI - 6 Stories From Last Week… And Mark Cuban vs. Congressman Ro Khanna!
Below are 6 highlights of columns from the week that was - we disclose how and when AI is used on this page — and do you know what happened on this day in 1977 that saddened the nation?
This Sunday ICYMI edition is always free for all subscribers and visitors to this Substack page! Thanks for being a part of this look at CA politics!
THIS IS A GREAT E-MAIL TO FORWARD TO PEOPLE YOU THINK MIGHT ENJOY OUR CONTENT!
Sunday Mini-Column:
Ro Khanna’s Wealth-Tax Fix Somehow Makes It Worse
Bay Area Congressman Ro Khanna started the exchange by celebrating California Democrats and organized labor for lining up behind Proposition 40, the November ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaire wealth. His argument was the familiar one: Democrats should stand with the working class against the billionaire class.
Then Mark Cuban weighed in.
Cuban — the billionaire entrepreneur who made his fortune in technology, owned the Dallas Mavericks for years, became a familiar face on Shark Tank and later launched Cost Plus Drugs — skipped past the class-war rhetoric and went straight to the mechanics. What happens when a founder is worth billions on paper but does not have a few hundred million dollars sitting in a checking account to send to Sacramento?
Khanna had an answer. Let the government loan him the money.
That is where this starts to become almost too good.
Under Khanna’s proposal, an “illiquid founder” could pledge shares in the company, borrow money from the state, use that borrowed money to pay the tax back to the state, and then have perhaps 10 years to repay the loan. If he cannot repay it, the state gets the shares.
Cuban’s response was brutal because it did not require much embellishment. California would lend a billionaire money so the billionaire could immediately give that same money back to California and call it tax revenue. If things go badly, taxpayers could wind up owning a chunk of the company.
Cuban even supplied the slogan: “Cali, You make it. We take it!”
That is hard to top.
Khanna began the exchange trying to explain why Proposition 40 is a good idea. By the end, he had done a pretty effective job explaining the opposite.
SIX COLUMNS AND A GREAT VIDEO BELOW!
Why I Traded A Lincoln Navigator Black Label Edition For A Tesla Model Y
Typically, our afternoon content is behind a paywall — or there is something extra for our paid subscribers. If you are not one, please consider upgrading. You are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscription!
What 19 Unhappy Los Angeles Voters Can Teach California Republicans
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! Usually our afternoon content is behind a paywall… If you are not yet a paid subscriber, consider upgrading — you are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscrip…
Xavier Becerra’s “Power Hour” Gimmick
Typically, our afternoon content is behind a paywall — or there is something extra for our paid subscribers. If you are not one, please consider upgrading. You are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscription!
President Trump Should Reject Hollywood’s Bailout Script
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! Usually our afternoon content is behind a paywall… If you are not yet a paid subscriber, consider upgrading — you are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my effort…
Newsom’s Affordability Plan Makes Wildfire Victims Pay
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! Usually our afternoon content is behind a paywall… If you are not yet a paid subscriber, consider upgrading — you are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscrip…
Did Nancy Pelosi Wait Too Long To Choose Her Successor?
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! Usually our afternoon content is behind a paywall… If you are not yet a paid subscriber, consider upgrading — you are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscrip…
Who Had The Worst Week In California Politics For The Week Ending 8/14
For now, this content is available to all subscribers; at some point, this feature may be available only to paid subscribers. What? Aren’t you one? Please consider upgrading — it’s only $70 a year or $7 a month for lots of great additional content, and you help support this project!
But Wait… There’s More…
I have six stories highlighted from this week, but there were more. Find them all here.
One Great Video
My friend Chris Cillizza (former Wash Post/CNN) records videos on YouTube. This one is almost like a “who done it” story — with the President slipping out of AF1 in a catering truck and going into another nearby plane to fly out of Turkey…
On This Day In History… In 1977…
THE DEATH OF ELVIS PRESLEY
On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 42 years old.
Presley was found unresponsive in his bathroom and was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death was initially attributed to a cardiac event, although his declining health and extensive use of prescription medications would become the subject of considerable scrutiny in the years that followed.
Few entertainers had ever transformed American popular culture as dramatically as Elvis. Beginning with his breakthrough recordings at Sun Records in the 1950s, Presley blended country, rhythm and blues, and gospel into a sound — and a stage presence — that helped propel rock and roll into the American mainstream. Songs including “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Suspicious Minds” made him an international phenomenon.
News of his death shocked fans around the world, and thousands quickly gathered outside Graceland to mourn.
Nearly half a century later, Elvis remains one of the most recognizable figures in American entertainment — an enduring symbol of the birth and explosive rise of rock and roll.
His most iconic music video (I think… there were so many…)