☆ Ring: taxing and spending “shall continue”
In an exclusive series before the November 2026 election, we’re asking local leaders what this cycle tells us about where we’re headed in both Silicon Valley and the state. California Policy Center’s Edward Ring weighs in on the fraught relationship between affordability and ever-increasing taxes.
The meta issue that dominates voter concerns in California today is the cost-of-living, and the overwhelming voter consensus is to continue to elect Democrats. California voters may rebel against Democrat policies on specific issues, and they recognize many systemic problems just downstream from the cost-of-living such as a huge homeless population and failing schools. But they remain convinced that Republicans would just make all of these problems worse.
It is still possible for Democrats to convince a supermajority of voters that more government spending will solve all their problems. And for those who are beginning to question the premise that more government is all we need to fix everything, they are nonetheless voting for Democrats because....Trump.
In the aftermath of the 2026 election, we may not have a wealth tax. That, along with Voter ID, is probably going to fail. But whether through initiative or legislative actions, we will see higher taxes, more regulations, and ongoing failure of virtually every social program. And still, the Democrats will continue to claim we need to tax and spend more, and if anyone disagrees then they must be a MAGA Republican. The message works. It deflects accountability. It shall continue.
When there finally is a fiscal catastrophe that renders state and local government insolvent, perhaps if there is a huge tech recession, California's electorate will reach a genuine crossroads. Voters will tilt into supporting full blown socialism, with all the disastrous consequences that would deliver, or they will start to claw back common sense by ceasing to view more government spending as the only possible way forward. We're not there yet.
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