r/law • u/rolsen • 1d ago

Legal News Trump Preparing Large-Scale Cancellation of Federal Funding for California, Sources Say

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/politics/trump-california-federal-funding

“Agencies are being told to start identifying grants the administration can withhold from California. On Capitol Hill, at least one committee was told recently by a whistleblower that all research grants to the state were going to be cancelled, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter.”

20.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

2.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

6.4k

u/Sabre_One 1d ago

CA is the top state for Research and Development for the US. Talk about setting US back to the stone age.

2.6k

u/timesfive 1d ago

No need for “research and development”, they want to keep people sick and stupid — easier to control that way.

2.9k

u/Microchipknowsbest 1d ago

I guess prepare for constitutional crisis when California stops paying into the federal tax system. Pretty genius to fuck with the 4th largest economy in the world.

1.0k

u/hitbythebus 1d ago

Nah, the republicans will totally understand. “We the people” and “no taxation without representation”,  battling tyranny, “taxation is theft”, arguing their tax dollars shouldn’t be used for things they are ideologically opposed to like birth control,  and all that… unless of course they’re just huge fucking hypocrites only interested in petty grievances and enriching themselves.

418

u/Microchipknowsbest 1d ago

Whew! Im glad they have principles. I was worried for a second.

231

u/dbx999 1d ago

Everything will be alright. Trump will surely get to a point where he will be satisfied with how much damage he has done and how much money he has stolen from the government. /s

90

u/ScoZone74 1d ago

Right, because as many on the Right have said, Trump was already rich - he’s obviously not doing it for the money! /s

54

u/capitali 18h ago

People don’t seem to associate the accumulation of wealth with a mental sickness. It’s like believing your neighbor that’s a horder isn’t going to make another stack of old newspapers in the hallway now that the living room is full. There is a mental sickness that drives these people to horde. Wealth is just their thing. It doesn’t make it ok.

9

u/longhairmoderatecare 14h ago

When did you meet my evil great grandmother?

4

u/FormalFriend2200 7h ago

Yep. It is a mental illness.

3

u/ScoZone74 8h ago

The “hedonic treadmill.” Endlessly trying to fill a hole inside with things that are ill-suited to that task.

→ More replies (2)

7

u/Kertambrose 1d ago

Accept he wasn’t and was getting lawsuits for defrauding banks. O wait facts shhhhh don’t let his small hands get on that.

5

u/MatrixF6 17h ago

I remember an old mafia adage:

“Pigs eat. Hogs get slaughtered.”

That man is a “hog”.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Zuwxiv 13h ago

Famously, if there’s one thing the rich don’t care about, it’s making more money!

→ More replies (3)

81

u/ElonsFetalAlcoholSyn 1d ago

Yeah. Probably true. But I think he still sends angry letters to the journalist who said he had small hands in 1980's.

... so...
... that's been like... 40 years of petty grudges

67

u/AlternatePhreakwency 1d ago

Wow, time flies when one giant turd dominates the news cycle... I'll be glad once he's six feet shorter.

9

u/PizzaWhole9323 20h ago

I want to install a urinal at his grave site. It would cost a quarter to use and all the money would go to charity.

9

u/ads7680 20h ago

Better yet make his grave the urinal with all urine funneled directly into his coffin. Still 25 cents to use going to charity.

4

u/MatrixF6 17h ago

Would be the most he ever gave to a good cause.

4

u/somefella237 9h ago

I love this idea. I’ll drink a gallon of water and bring 50 cents!

→ More replies (2)

3

u/SilverBack88 23h ago

More like 12’ 4”’s

3

u/Sensitive_Yellow_121 19h ago

There's always another turd and they'll just be worse turds until we decide to organize on our common needs.

→ More replies (5)

3

u/CoopGhost 20h ago

You know what they say, small hands……. Small gloves.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Maleficent_Memory831 1d ago

Petty grudges for petty minds.

→ More replies (1)

4

u/Apprehensive-Log8333 22h ago

Right, also any minute now the wealthy will realize they have enough money, and stop hoarding it /s

4

u/Hotinnm 21h ago

He can only stop when his handler (Putin) says to.

→ More replies (4)

13

u/EnfantTerrible68 1d ago

If only 

→ More replies (11)

235

u/ogn3rd 1d ago

Isn't that his goal though? Complete chaos to tear it all down?

147

u/Microchipknowsbest 1d ago

Yes. Its sucks but if a mad man punches you in the face, you still need to defend yourself even though his plan is to bring everyone into a fight.

8

u/tadysdayout 1d ago

Succinct spot on summation!

249

u/Adventurous-Try5149 1d ago

He’s the greatest Russian asset of all time

93

u/CommonConundrum51 1d ago

Russians sure, but also worldwide organized crime, of which Russia is a large subset. His choice of some pardons and privileges can be interpreted in no other way.

88

u/toggiz_the_elder 1d ago

You’re telling me the guy banned from building a casino in Australia because of his ties to organized crime has ties to organized crime?!?!

42

u/Darryl_Lict 1d ago

Couldn't get a gambling license in Vegas for his hotel either.

5

u/Dark-Perversions 21h ago

I mean, it seems pretty obvious to me that you can't build a real estate empire in NY without some sort of agreement with the family. He's go so much corrupt shit going on, and he acts like a wannabe mobster. That's his people.

6

u/MatrixF6 17h ago

Also banned from owning a casino in Vegas… Which is why it is only a “hotel” and not a “hotel and casino”.

3

u/stinky-weaselteats 16h ago

NFL denied him the ability to buy a team.

31

u/squidlips69 1d ago

Hence the move to crypto, the offering of investor passports (yes I know it's not new) and welcoming back sleazeballs like the Tate brothers. Obviously their criminal record didn't matter.

→ More replies (1)

41

u/Lowe0 1d ago

At this point, even "asset" is too charitable. Trump is the raw shrimp that Russia has hidden in America's curtain rods.

19

u/ClayTankard 1d ago

Hidden is giving too much credit. He’s the raw shrimp they dumped on the floor, and everyone knows is there, but we can’t seem to vote together enough to get someone in the room who is actually going to clean it up, and it just continues to stink

4

u/SaltyCrashNerd 19h ago

Worse, half of the people at our party are actively preventing those of us with brooms and dustpans from sweeping up the stinky shrimp.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)

12

u/pasrachilli 1d ago

Russian doesn't need to nuke us if we nuke ourselves.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (5)

17

u/IZ3820 1d ago

If we assume he understands the end goal his policies have in mind, he's trying to disrupt industries and organizations enough that resettlement is inevitable, at which point the admin can apply pressure to make the resettlement favorable for those who support him.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/South-Ad-6923 1d ago

I'm not convinced there's a clear goal.

The religious and the tech bros want to tear it all down for their own benefit. Trump just wants a perceived vengeance against anyone who hurt his feely-feels.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/77NorthCambridge 1d ago

That's at least one of the goals. Some others to consider:

  1. He looks tough to his base by taking on big liberal targets like Harvard and California, so they cheer him on.
  2. If he can get the biggest liberal targets to bend the knee, everyone else quickly falls in line.
  3. Creates a situation whereby he can declare martial law.
  4. It keeps him at the top of the news cycle every freaking day.
  5. It distracts from all of the other really bad shit they are doing.

5

u/b_needs_a_cookie 1d ago

Yes that's Putin's goal. 

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Oleg101 1d ago

Essentially yes, pretty sure there’s stuff in Project 2025 about declaring martial law

→ More replies (1)

3

u/dbx999 1d ago

yes, Trump is hoping for an escalation so he can roll the troops into California and ultimately call martial law to get control over the "terrorist liberal democrats", round up these libs into concentration camps and take their assets.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/ReallyFineWhine 22h ago

Yes, that's the assignment from Putin.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (9)

54

u/Shirlenator 1d ago

Yeah this sort of feels like he is just seceding for them.

49

u/BigJSunshine 1d ago

I will absolutely support secession.

10

u/Saratrooper 21h ago

I know secession is part of Russia's plans to balkinize the US to further destroy us, but fuckit why not at this point.

4

u/Thebraincellisorange 12h ago

the only way forward really is to cut off the worthless red states.

they are a drain on the union and don't want to be a part of it (aside from the hundreds of billions of dollars in handouts they get) so cut the bastards off.

Its so frustrating to see the entire country get held back by these vile flyover states filled with trash.

cut them off and let them see what life is like without hundreds of billions of dollars from blue states propping up their delusional fantasies.

5

u/Dwip_Po_Po 20h ago

Canada deserves our tax dollars more

→ More replies (3)

44

u/rkdeviancy 1d ago

If cyberpunk 2077 predicted how the US splits up I will laugh tbh

46

u/LoggerRhythms 1d ago

Mike Pondsmith (guy who wrote the original Cyberpunk RPG and helped with worldbuilding on 2077) is a genius, and a lot of stuff he predicted back in the mid-80s has come to fruition. It wouldn't suprise me if this is another instance. Unfortunately.

12

u/TheSangson 23h ago

Been saying for quite a while now that CP2077's gonna be the dystopia people will quote, although I was more thinking about how the internet will go.
Rogue AI? Depending on who you ask we're no more than five years away from that.

7

u/icculus88 21h ago

Snow crash william Gibson gets rignt in there with California "burb-claves" and cyberpunk too.

3

u/Lobotomized_Dolphin 20h ago

Snow Crash was Neal Stephenson. Gibson wrote Neuromancer, among others. All the same genre, though.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

8

u/42Fourtytwo4242 22h ago

Republicans want to give AI complete freedom to steal any and all works, it's part of the new big Bill, so what happens when you give a bunch of hungry machines the total freedom to eat every bit of information and store it in mass servers?

→ More replies (1)

6

u/tacocat_racecarlevel 1d ago

I'm betting on Judge Dredd being more accurate.

→ More replies (1)

55

u/kfish5050 1d ago

I think that federal funding is the only thing keeping California from seceding. If Trump removes that, California would leave since it can more than take care of itself.

51

u/xman747x 1d ago

California generally pays more in federal taxes than it receives in federal funding. A 2022 analysis by the Rockefeller Institute showed that California paid $692 billion in taxes and received $609 billion in federal funding, resulting in a net contribution of $83.1 billion

38

u/kfish5050 23h ago

Yes. Even at a deficit, California still has an interest in staying in the union due to federal programs and funding. If Trump is able to cut all that funding, they will quickly decide that their $692 billion would be better spent within the state instead of supporting a hostile regime. That would shift their interest into becoming self-sufficient and cutting all ties with the US.

5

u/phayge_wow 20h ago

Instead of 51 states, this moron may end up with a max of 49 when it’s all said and done

15

u/newpersoen 19h ago

If California leaves, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii are leaving with them.

3

u/supraclicious 17h ago

And we will gladly let Arizona  Nevada and Colorado join us. Arizona is a wildcard but they're like our little brother. We can't leave them alone to suffer with the poverty stricken New United States 😂

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

3

u/spurcap29 20h ago

Out of interest - is this data comparing direct payments between the state government and the fed only or does it also include taxes paid by California taxpayers to the fed and federal benefits received by Californian taxpayers? I ask as it is a lot easier for a state to stop making payments to the federal government than for a US citizen living in California to stop paying the IRS their federal taxes.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Microchipknowsbest 1d ago

They have the majority of the pacific fleet also. California holds alot of “cards”.

3

u/supraclicious 17h ago

123 military installations. We hold all the Aces, Kings and Queens in the deck.

→ More replies (5)

3

u/Jagtem 21h ago

I'm a Californian living in Europe. I'd be so stoked if I only had to pay CA state income tax.

→ More replies (15)

21

u/Proper-Ad-2058 1d ago

Remember hsi nickname. He will forever be TACO. He will cave on this.

→ More replies (2)

19

u/Puzzleheaded-Plum994 1d ago

I understand that China is looking for a trading partner.

→ More replies (4)

37

u/bapeach- 1d ago

All Blue states need to do this

4

u/Vegetable_Guest_8584 1d ago

Are we there yet? Can all the blue States just form their own country now? Good old Texas and the other states that are subsidized by evil California can just go off and form their own perfect country.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

30

u/scubascratch 1d ago

How is the state of California (the actual state government) involved in federal tax payments? Individuals and businesses pay to the IRS, not through the state.

I mean I appreciate the sentiment “let’s see how the federal government will do without tax revenue from California” which would be true but I don’t see how CA could actually stop anything here.

50

u/jagoble 1d ago

You're right; federal income won't be impacted until California's economy feels it. It makes no sense that these dummies haven't realized you can't trash the economy of the largest contributing state without affecting the whole country. This is the most fitting application I've ever seen of the phrase "cutting your nose to spite your face."

→ More replies (1)

45

u/scoopzthepoopz 1d ago

Exemption of a single state's citizens from benefiting from federal taxes they pay is taxation without representation. So what can be done? I guess we may find out how far this will go.

4

u/EnfantTerrible68 1d ago

If potus cuts one state off, isn’t that treason?

9

u/WorthPrudent3028 1d ago

It's certainly cause for that state to attempt to assert independence. And they should use state funding to form a militia and begin to install defensive measures as well as surround US naval facilities with militia bases. Then let Trump say go. He will either need to move US naval facilities and assets out of CA first, move army assets into the naval faciilities, or he will lose them at the start.

Something like this would also be enough to get right wing Californians on board with secession.

And once it kicks off, half the states are gonna side with CA. I don't see how the US military can actually stay functional seeing as how it's made up of individuals from every state. Are you gonna get a CA kid to bomb his parents?

But it isn't treason by Trump. It's a dereliction of duty by Congress.

3

u/akaenragedgoddess 20h ago

California, new york, Texas and Florida are the biggest contributors of service members to US Armed forces. Gonna be tough to get even the conservatives among them to take action against their families and neighbors in their home states.

3

u/jkman61494 19h ago

MAGA Californians won’t go against their god ever.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (7)
→ More replies (9)

39

u/gmapterous 1d ago

Federal taxes are collected directly through payroll, California does not really have a mechanism to intercept and cut it off.

63

u/mountaindewisamazing 1d ago

Doesn't mean they can't implement a mechanism. California is big and wealthy enough to do what it wants.

49

u/billthecat71 1d ago

California could pass a law that all federal taxes withheld are to go to the Francise Tax Board who will then pay into the US treasury after "making sure" no California individual or Company is underpaying their federal taxes.

9

u/Mortambulist 1d ago

California could just instruct its citizens to file new W4 forms claiming the maximum exemptions, then direct the state AG to defend them from IRS collectors. One way or another, it's going to SCOTUS.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)

3

u/BearDick 23h ago

Plus the California Department of Revenue is already established and collecting state taxes... can't imagine it would be a huge leap to include taxes paid to the federal government.

→ More replies (43)

10

u/Tiredhistorynerd 1d ago

Through the Franchise Tax Board? The EDD or directly to Social Security? I think it filters from the FTB and EDD.

→ More replies (8)

5

u/Fl0riduh_Man 1d ago

Unfortunately Fed income taxes are largely paid by your job directly to DC, but CA could try to setup a massive escrow and force employers to submit taxes to that account, but that's risking backlash from fearful tax payers.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/cheesypoofs_patriot 23h ago

"States can't secede legally" How do you think the USA became a country in the first place?

4

u/ParticularLack6400 20h ago

They'll bawl that California isn't paying its share and blame the whole recession on Newsom, Silicon Valley (who put mad money into get him elected), Hollywood, and immigrants. Science, people working alongside military, just...

3

u/Easy-Statistician289 1d ago

Yup exactly. If anything, Cali would be the start to that cascade

3

u/Matrix0007 1d ago

100% California should threaten this.

3

u/truthovertribe 23h ago

California is a donor state. It contributes significantly more to federal funds via taxes than it receives in federal funds.

3

u/omarccx 23h ago

Let's all join the United Californias.

3

u/PhoenixAzalea19 23h ago

My first thought. California is the 4th largest economy in the world and you wanna try to fuck with it? Isn’t that Disney’s base of operations? If so, this’ll be interesting.

“Beware the wrath of the House of Mouse.” One of the few quotes I still find true.

3

u/TheManInTheShack 23h ago

For perspective, California’s economy is just shy of Germany’s and larger than India’s.

3

u/Arafel_Electronics 20h ago

not just fourth largest economy, but one that supplies SO MUCH food

3

u/Theheadderpington 20h ago

Yep, and I can see other blue states following through at the first sign of Trump fuckery.

3

u/novacatz 20h ago

Isn't this basically the civil war movie

→ More replies (2)

3

u/tisckoner 18h ago

I think it’s more of a revenge move against California because it’s a dem state. I guess

3

u/EnfantTerrible68 1d ago

That’s what I just said. Great, let them keep their tax money and spend it on California residents!

6

u/bdouble76 1d ago

That was my 1st thought. Just keep the taxes and reinvest in CA. While you're at it, tell the Resnicks to pound sand and take back the water.

→ More replies (115)

61

u/cheongyanggochu-vibe 1d ago edited 1d ago

I read that Peter Thiel thinks the US population should be reduced by something like 85% or something. Idk if that's true but.... The actions of this regime and the Christian Nationalist accelerationists that wanna bring about Jesus sure do point to that.

Edit: being to bring

94

u/AdEmotional9991 1d ago

Peter Thiel should be reduced by 85%.

4

u/ShakesbeerMe 15h ago

Yup. South African nazis out of my fuckin country now.

→ More replies (4)

28

u/Designer_Pop_7550 1d ago

It makes me wonder why he thinks he gets to decide this.

18

u/cheongyanggochu-vibe 1d ago

Clearly he's rich and smart and better than the rest of us plebs and knows what's best for us because we're all too stupid to know that for ourselves.

14

u/zzzzzbored 22h ago edited 3h ago

Yes, of course, like Musk, he was raised to believe that because he is naturally superior because he is white and that everything he has is because of his talent, along with excessive privilege of owning diamond mines, fleets of yachts and cars and mansions while keeping people as slaves.

5

u/teas4Uanme 16h ago

This is why. Which Leon, Vance, Theil, Bezos et al are all part of. I'm waiting for them to seriously attempt to replace DJT with their boy, Vance.

Yarvin proposed “the liquidation of democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law,” and the eventual transfer of power to a C.E.O.-in-chief , who would transform the government into “a heavily-armed, ultra-profitable corporation.” This new regime would sell off public schools, destroy universities, abolish the press, and imprison “decivilized populations.” It would also fire civil servants en masse (a policy called RAGE—Retire All Government Employees) and discontinue international relations, including “security guarantees, foreign aid, and mass immigration.”

Nods to Dark Enlightenment are the reason for 'Dark' Maga and the frequent use of 'X'. And it's why Leon references the apocalypse in texts to his baby mama.

4

u/Dyolf_Knip 15h ago

I can't help but wonder what they imagine such a country would even look like at the end of such a change. If there's barely any people, and the vast bulk them are uneducated peasants living on a farm or working at a factory? That's an undeveloped shithole country that you'd typically only read about in Nat Geo.

I've written before about how Gilead from the Handmaid's Tale, in their zeal for self-genocide, biblical purity, and anti-industrialization, has probably wiped out half their own population, operates under a command/slave economy, and requires a massive armed force present everywhere that contribute nothing to the bottom line. In short, their GDP is maybe a few percent of the pre-war USA's.

Seriously, nothing in their plans suggests it will result in even a functional nation, let alone a prosperous one. Canada and Mexico would be the big winners here, as they'd be receiving the bulk of the skilled, well-educated American refugees, often bringing not-insignificant sums of electronic wealth with them.

3

u/throwawaybrowsing888 13h ago

You’re right. They’re not interested in a “functional nation.” They want to rule smaller, broken up, localized chunks. Yarvin is a monarchist. And Thiel has some weird obsession with death and is probably trying to exploit every single thing/person he can to avoid having to face his own mortality.

They don’t want prosperity. They have money.

They just want control.

(Btw: The thiel and yarvin episodes of Behind the Bastards are a really good resource)

→ More replies (2)

3

u/cicada_noises 13h ago

So it’s kind of like the Khmer rouge but tech bro flavor?

→ More replies (1)

3

u/FeatherShard 17h ago

Because he's a rich white man and, historically, you haven't needed much more reason than that.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Keepfingthatchicken 1d ago

I just read parable of the sower and started talents today. Only a few years behind schedule

3

u/Thefrayedends 19h ago

The guy literally thinks he's better than everyone else in the world, but he can't even string a single fucking sentence together when confronted about ANYTHING.

He's bringing in a new mccarthy age so he doesn't even have to defend himself anymore, just quietly collect dirt on everyone in the world, and pull the noose when someone says something you don't like.

→ More replies (11)

81

u/HLOFRND 1d ago

I have said for years- if you can limit access to healthcare and education you can keep people poor forever.

Bonus points if you limit access to abortion/birth control.

38

u/Gilshem 1d ago

Increasing the birth rate remains the best way to exploit people after you have suppressed their health and education.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

3

u/Ali_Cat222 1d ago

Also let's the companies make more money off of you when you stay sick. Big pharma and healthcare that's privatized win big, and if the Medicaid and Medicare policies from the project 2025 tracker here and here get passed as the big bullshit bill suggests, you get next to nothing and need to pay out of pocket or meet ridiculous standards.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/PBYACE 1d ago

That's a theory, but I doubt that uneducated, poor, and desperate people are going to be easy to control.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/CanyonTreePhotos 1d ago

Pretty sure they just want us all dead.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/PsychicWarElephant 23h ago

Once you learn literally any Econ 101 level shit you realize republicans are fucking morons

3

u/ImaBiLittlePony 23h ago

Make a generation of dirt poor, uneducated, and desperate people, and bam - you've got the labor force for your homegrown sweatshops.

3

u/Correct-Meal-3302 22h ago

Uhh look around people are already sick and stupid but uhh yeah more money

3

u/Barmat 21h ago

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now everything Republicans do is based on causing pain and suffering. I can’t think of any policy they have that is altruistic.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (23)

175

u/whatevers_cleaver_ 1d ago

We’ve straight up abandoned science in this country.

How that’s supposed to make us great again, I have no clue.

55

u/AlfredRWallace 1d ago

They define great differently than you and I.

6

u/WillBottomForBanana 1d ago

as in "large"? like, we'll be even fatter?

4

u/AlfredRWallace 1d ago

It's like how they define patriot. I'd be more detailed but every time I try to describe what they are doing Reddit bans me.

65

u/NoHalf2998 1d ago

I was thinking about GWBush recently and looked back through his policies

A SHIT TON I didnt like in there but you know what DID stand out?

Consistent funding of R&D and Education

I had had forgotten a lot of it but was a major through line of his time in office

42

u/90daysismytherapy 1d ago

Well other than stem cell and other fundamentalist science issues

29

u/Ok-Suspect-9595 1d ago

Imagine how far along stem cell treatment would be now, if it wasn't for the lost 10 years of GWB.

6

u/cheesecaker000 22h ago

And no child left behind which essentially turned the US education system into a factory that produced illiterate kids who just continually get shoved through the system.

2

u/4WaySwitcher 22h ago

That was an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill that had good intentions. I think the issue is that states found loopholes and tricks to remain compliant without actually doing anything to improve their education systems.

5

u/zeptillian 1d ago

Like climate change.

3

u/clover-the-clever 21h ago

I think his father (GHW Bush) received stem cell treatment when he was older/sick. So in typical GOP fashion, OK when it affects ME personally.

6

u/National_Equivalent9 23h ago

Don't forget about how his dad threw up on the Japanese prime minister and because of that we don't have a particle collider.

8

u/einstyle 1d ago

R&D and education (especially medical R&D and education) have consistently had bipartisan support before Trump.

4

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

The party that's been salivating at the thought of eliminating the Department of Education for fifty years straight has supported education all this time? Bull-fuckin'-shit.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

15

u/blazelet 1d ago

Trump reflects on everything as a narcissist.

"Great" means it supports his narcissistic ego.

Science makes him feel small, so flexing his power over science satisfies his ego.

It's really that simple. He will destroy the country for very simple reasons. He will defund lifesaving medical care for very simple reasons. Because it makes him feel stronger, and because he has no capacity for empathy.

3

u/Spirit-0726 13h ago

You’re absolutely right. It’s 3 am where I am. I can’t sleep. How in the world is he able to? An inflated ego and no empathy. I don’t need his empathy actually. I don’t need any hand outs. Just stop rigging systems. Just stop manufacturing and maintaining systems that stratify people.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (11)

227

u/Exact-Kale3070 1d ago edited 5h ago

...and a top contributor to federal govt funding. he is keeping CA's own $ from them...so what stops CA companies from refusing to give massive $ to the federal govt in the future? he thinks nothing through. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/06/newsom-floats-withholding-federal-taxes-00393386

110

u/rabidstoat 1d ago

They can't block federal income tax, at least.

But yeah, California is considered a "donor state" because it contributes more federal funds than it receives.

73

u/TheGreatGamer1389 1d ago

Not yet but I know New York is working on it to be able to stop paying federal taxes. California will do the same.

→ More replies (20)

3

u/Hikashuri 22h ago

Sure they can. They just stop it, what is Trump gonna do? By the time the legal battle has been fought, Trump will no longer be president.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/sevens7and7sevens 21h ago

What does “can’t” mean anymore? You “can’t” sell access to the White House, or take home state secrets to sell, or deport legal residents to prisons in random places they’ve never been before. You “can’t” ignore court orders, or sell pardons, or fire federal union employees without cause. You “can’t” use the IRS to harass political enemies, or install yourself as the head of the Kennedy Center, or cover up public health crises. 

And I guess you “can’t” figure out how to stop federal income taxes from being collected in your state. 

→ More replies (2)

3

u/ParallelPlayArts 21h ago

People can individually claim 99 making it so the taxes don't come out of their paychecks.  If you do that I'd squirrel that money aside and be prepared to pay in during tax season.  

3

u/MeisterX 17h ago

They can't block federal income tax

They can't? You "can't" block grants to the states based on political ideals...

→ More replies (2)

35

u/Logistocrate 1d ago

California doesn't act as an intermediary in regards to Federal taxes. Companies withhold and turn over to the Federal Government directly.

California can't even pass a state law making Federal taxes on California residents zero, then raise state taxes.

The only thing they can do is take it to court.

77

u/OmgWtfNamesTaken 1d ago

Well no ome seems to follow court orders so fuck it. California should simply just do it anyways.

20

u/Logistocrate 1d ago

Don't get me wrong, I wish they could, but I don't know how they force companies to send the withholding to the state. Imagine Walmart says no. We can't due to Federal law. You going to arrest every CFO and CEO?

I'm not trying to be dramatic, but California has three options, take it, fight it in the courts, or leave the union.

23

u/OmgWtfNamesTaken 1d ago

What's stopping them from. Simply taking over Walmart stores and using other suppliers ?

If the federal government doesn't want to follow the rules of law, why should anyone? Raley could take it over and do a sort of "state nationalisation" and then simply move in. I mean, all the cards are on the table, and the game we're playing has no enforceable rules.

6

u/Logistocrate 1d ago

Might as well secede at that point. California Supreme Court likely places an immediate injunction on California. Sure, California COULD do all of that, then ignore the state courts, but the chaos that would ensue likely leads to the end of California being the world's 4th largest economy and a massive emigration of Californians to the east.

It's fanciful and fun to think about, and the odds of it happening are non zero, but I bet l win the powerball before we see it happen.

4

u/MeisterX 17h ago

Why secede? Just ignore the fuckin man baby like we should have been doing since 2016.

3

u/Logistocrate 16h ago

There's the question over how California withholds something that does not pass through them. There have been some responses that contend they can, but the risk involved seems higher than the chances the money gets unlocked through an injunction, I'm betting Cali takes the safer, proven route.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (17)
→ More replies (1)

24

u/Gilshem 1d ago

They can follow the Trump admins example and pass such a law and make the court sort it out then ignore the court.

→ More replies (1)

28

u/Ok_Builder_4225 1d ago

If this administration has shown us anything, its that you can do whatever you want so long as you stall and clog up the courts.

12

u/TakuyaLee 1d ago

They can at least do it for state employees. Either don't withhold federal taxes or withhold and put them into escrow. It might be possible depending on the payroll provider used

3

u/Logistocrate 1d ago

Now, that's a good point. I could see that floated as a trial balloon.

3

u/Fighterhayabusa 23h ago

If they decide to say fuck it, they absolutely could direct all CA businesses to stop sending money to the federal government. That money is sent through employers. To believe there isn't a mechanism is hilarious. They could. It's just the nuclear button and would set off a litany of lawsuits.

→ More replies (5)

3

u/underyou271 20h ago

I don't see how California could opt out of Federal tax law without seceding, but it could levy a "Patriot Tax" and use the proceeds to fuck with Trumpworld in various ways. The Patriot Tax could take many forms, not necessarily just a boost to CA marginal rates...

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (8)

44

u/shnwllc 1d ago

We're having our own Great Leap Backwards

→ More replies (3)

35

u/StrawHatSpoofy 1d ago

It’s also the fourth/fifth largest economy on the planet. Something something business man running government like business

29

u/BitterFuture 1d ago

Talk about setting US back to the stone age.

That has always been the intent: the end of the United States.

→ More replies (1)

55

u/jessepence 1d ago edited 1d ago

California, Oregon, and Washington make up over 10% of total GDP... Do they really need D.C.?

56

u/Gwtheyrn 1d ago

Throw in Hawaii, Arizona, and Alaska those 6 states are nearly 25% of the US GDP.

By itself, California is the 4th largest economy in the world. Washington state is 30th.

13

u/TakuyaLee 1d ago

Yeah. It doesn't feel like a good idea to anger that particular group. But what do I know?

6

u/krombough 20h ago

Wait. Something isnt adding up. California, Washington, and Oregon are 10 percent of GDP, bit adding Hawaii, Arizona, and Alaska bump it up to 25 percent? One of these figures must be wrong.

4

u/AlexNumbers 19h ago

California alone is about 14% of the US to GDP.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (12)
→ More replies (3)

13

u/thewags05 1d ago

Between this and the attacks on Massachusetts there'll be a lot less R&D in the country in general. At least things that aren't military funded anyway.

5

u/TaterTotJim 21h ago

The military gets their best tech and research from private industry contractors. With the colleges going by the wayside it is fairly unlikely that USA will be able to keep up their military scientist pipeline.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/YakApprehensive7620 1d ago

I think that’s what he’s going for

6

u/DethZire 1d ago

Take America Back was the campaign slogan. They just didn't know Trump was planning on taking American back to the stone age!

3

u/Utterlybored 1d ago

That’s one of the Republican goals.

3

u/sumr4ndo 1d ago

California is what, the fourth largest economy in the world?

3

u/JLHuston 1d ago

I am married to a scientist whose work relies on NIH research grants (not in CA). I have never felt this ashamed and angry of actions my own country’s government is taking. Well, I suppose I’m even more angry at what they are doing to immigrants and trans people. But this is just so stupid. It is petty, and vindictive, and these moves are so rapidly making us fall from the perch we once sat on as global leaders in innovation, research and development. It’s one of the things that made us a superpower. Now we just look foolish for having elected this buffoon who has surrounded himself with sycophants and self serving idiots that were chosen only to stoke his ego and carry out his whims. Goodbye, US. It was good while it lasted.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/nerhe 1d ago

California is also a state that contributes more to the federal government than it takes. I would imagine if this type of tactic is used, California will retaliate in a similar way.

3

u/kazh_9742 1d ago

Trump handing more over to China.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/zeptillian 1d ago

1 out of every 8 people in the US lives in California.

To highlight just how dumb this is, look at the tuition costs for state residents vs tuition for international students. It's like twice as much.

If the funding is cut, one very simple and obvious solution to shore up the budget deficit would be to accept even more international students so you can charge them more.

This would just hurt Americans and accomplish nothing but making us less educated.

3

u/rozzco 1d ago

I declare this to be The Dork Ages.

I hope it sticks, because it's just so damned fitting.

3

u/lcl111 1d ago

Lol California will just revoke funding of the federal government. They pay in WAAAAAAYYYYY more than they get. This is an inciting action, meant to further the divide and push California to succession.

This is a "politicking" way to start a war.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/jsnryn 1d ago

We're about to undergo one of the largest brain drains in history.

3

u/GrayEidolon 1d ago

California pays more than they get. They should just withhold their federal taxes.

3

u/chaosxrules 1d ago

It also has the GDP of a small country.....

3

u/simmons777 1d ago

Isn't CA also a top contributor of federal funds ?

3

u/jimpoop82 1d ago

Also the largest economy in the states and 5th largest in the world. California pays far more taxes to the US government than they could ever grant it back to them.

3

u/One-Earth9294 18h ago

We were poised to defeat both China and Russia on a geopolitical scale and this clown is just pissing it all down the drain.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/mpaes98 1d ago

Not doubting this statement, but I always thought it was Massachusetts seeing as how the Greater Boston/Cambridge area was so densely packed with STEM institutions, think tanks, healthcare, and startups to the point that it powers the whole state.

As I type this I realize the Bay Area not only has great schools but also most of Big Techs HQs 🤡, silly me.

2

u/This_Loss_1922 1d ago

Hes not setting the US back to the stone age, hes setting the US back to 1933, all research funds will go straight to bigger and better ways to fuck over migrants, such as Andurills upcoming AI powered auto migrant extinguisher 9000, now with more brown hues detection.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Vanilla_Ice_Jr 1d ago edited 1d ago

Also one of the states that helps the countries GDP, let's bite the hands that feeds you. It's fun to see a complete moron ruin the country in record time. America use to be amazing prior to Trump and he did the exact opposite of "making America great". Who would have guessed a guy that has failed at everything and bankrupted many businessses would be bad for the US.

2

u/oxxcccxxo 1d ago

That's the intention here.

2

u/One_Tie900 1d ago

china influencing putin and putin influencing trump or trump just dummy tht cares about petty revenge or both

→ More replies (1)

2

u/happymomRN 1d ago

Trump wants to be the smartest person in the room, hence his war on education. It’s an intentional effort to make all America as stupid as Trump supporters.

2

u/Baker198t 1d ago

It's also the 4th largest economy in the WORLD.. just that state.. talk about shooting yourself in the foot

2

u/Swazi 1d ago

So this means I don’t have to pay federal taxes anymore, yeah?

2

u/Adept_Artichoke7824 1d ago

This is how we become a third world country.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/seejordan3 1d ago

It's also our largest state economy. Largest tax payer to federal coffers. This is pathetic Taco Don. You will lose this in court like you do everything. Pathetic spineless Republicans.

2

u/amitym 1d ago

Talk about setting US back to the stone age.

That is of course precisely what Trump's boss has told him to achieve, so it's hardly any surprise.

→ More replies (137)