California has a $16 billion dollar deficit. In a state with 39 million people, Jerry Brown could introduce the following status quo plan; there will be a head tax of $410 per person for every person who is in California. Don't pay this each year and you must leave. That's $1.12 per day. Call it a "sun tax" and treat everyone equally. Now, I know that a head tax is "unfair" but once we start with this charge, the legislature would then be incentivized to debate alternative revenue plans.
Switching subjects, I want to mention China and the accountants. China has made a mistake with its new edict that locals must be in charge of Accounting projects in China. "China's Ministry of Finance announced the audit industry's so-called Big Four -PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte - must begin to hand over the reins of their Chinese practices to its citizens and accountants."
You don't have to be a great game theorist to anticipate that Chinese citizens are likely to be more responsive to central government lobbying and nudges than foreign nationals. This perception that the books "will be cooked" should give foreign investors a stomach ache when thinking about whether to invest in China.
If China believes in the strength of its economy, then it should support transparency because it has "nothing to hide".
