Here’s a paid column I wrote for City Journal on the Phil Mickelson brouhaha. Included is a short discussion of the harmful effects of Prop 30 on our California pro sports teams. Already one team — the Sacramento Kings NBA team — is being relocated to a tax-free state.
http://www.city-journal.org/2013/cjc0125rr.html
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RICHARD RIDER
Taking One for the Team
Phil Mickelson points the way for rich folks: get out of California, quietly.
25 January 2013
Golfer Phil Mickelson made a public relations mistake, and thank goodness he did. While golf is an individual sport, in this case, he took one for the team. At a PGA news conference last week, he spoke out against the new, higher taxes he now has to pay and announced in passing that he might have to make some “drastic changes” to deal with the major tax increases that took effect this month. The liberal press went bonkers, and much of the envious public piled on with insults and ridicule—incensed that anyone making $60 million would dare complain about paying his “fair share.” A bewildered Mickelson quickly backtracked, apologizing for speaking out on such a political issue. And he apologized again a few days later—after intense meetings with his publicist—delivering his mea culpa with just the right combination of contriteness and joviality. All his backtracking in turn angered other fans, who had lauded him for speaking out. . . . To read the rest of the article, go to the link |