California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is warning that the Golden State is flirting with another self-inflicted economic disaster, this time through a proposed billionaire tax that he says could drive even more wealth, jobs, and investment out of California, as reported [1] by Fox Business.
The proposal, backed by the California Democratic Party and set for the 2026 ballot, would target the wealthiest residents in a state already famous for sky-high costs, punishing taxes and a political class that never seems to run out of ways to chase people away.
Hilton joined FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” to hammer the plan, arguing that even the threat of the new tax has already done real damage. In a state where Democrats treat private success like a government revenue stream, that warning is not exactly hard to believe.
“It’s already cost California billions of dollars in lost tax revenue because of the amount of wealth that’s already left the state,” Hilton said.
“Just because of the threat of this insane tax.”
Supporters of the measure claim that California’s richest residents should pay more, which is the usual left-wing script whenever Sacramento runs out of other people’s money. Opponents say the state is already overtaxed, overregulated and increasingly uncompetitive, especially compared with states like Texas and Florida.
Hilton argued that California’s highest earners already pay a large share of the state’s income taxes. His point was simple: squeezing them harder will not magically fix schools, roads, homelessness or crime if the same political class keeps wasting the money.
That is the part Sacramento Democrats never want to discuss. California collects enormous revenue, spends billions on grand promises and still manages to produce tent cities, unaffordable housing, crushing energy prices and a steady stream of moving trucks headed east.
Hilton has also blasted the state’s homelessness crisis as a “total failure of the ruling class” under Gov. Gavin Newsom. He pointed to the billions already spent while places like Skid Row remain national symbols of government incompetence wrapped in progressive talking points.
The billionaire tax fight is only one piece of a broader economic problem, according to Hilton. He said rising labor costs, expensive energy and layers of regulation are making it harder for employers to stay open and harder for families to afford ordinary life.
Hilton said repeated minimum wage hikes create “a kind of doom loop” for businesses. Owners face higher costs, pass those costs to consumers, reduce hiring, automate jobs or decide that California simply is not worth the headache anymore.
That warning comes as California has already lost its Fortune 500 crown to Texas, a stunning reminder that companies can read balance sheets even if Sacramento politicians prefer slogans. When employers leave, jobs, tax revenue and opportunity leave with them.
“If we don’t face up to the reality, California’s economy is going to absolutely collapse,” Hilton said.
His alternative is not complicated. Hilton said California should lower taxes, cut government spending and reduce regulations so employers have a reason to invest, hire and expand in the state instead of escaping it.
That message runs directly against the dominant Sacramento worldview, where every problem somehow requires another tax, another mandate or another expensive program run by the same officials who created the mess. For voters tired of watching California squander its natural advantages, Hilton is betting that common sense still has a constituency.
The political question is whether Californians will keep rewarding the one-party machine that presided over the decline, or finally demand a different course. If the billionaire tax moves forward, the state may discover once again that wealth is mobile, businesses have options, and productive people do not exist merely to fund Sacramento’s latest fantasy.