Friedberg calculates California wildfires have released as much CO2 as all state cars in a year.
“So thus far, if you do the math on that, we've released about as much, c o two as we've, as the California cars release in a year by the wildfires.”
“California has 33,000,000 acres of forest land. It's about a 100,000,000 acres in total land. Forests make up about a third of our land.”
Friedberg provides specific numbers showing California fires have burned 10% of forest acreage so far.
“Forests make up about a third of our land. So far, we're we're burning three and a half million, so about 10% of our acres.”
Friedberg quantifies California wildfires have burned 10% of forest acres, releasing 15% of stored carbon per acre.
“When we burn an acre, we release about 15% of the carbon that's stored in that acre into the atmosphere.”
Friedberg explains California court precedent prevents any reduction in promised public employee pension benefits for life.
“And so there's precedent in California state court that you cannot change pension benefits on the date that someone was hired. You can never change their future benefits.”
Friedberg notes California ballot measure for 5% wealth tax on billionaires with legislative power to lower threshold.
“Well, it's it's on the ballot now in California to pass a wealth tax, and it starts as a one time 5% tax for billionaires, but it gives the legislature in California the ability to lower the threshold”
Friedberg notes California wealth tax proposal starts at 5% for billionaires with expandable scope and authority.
“Well, it's it's on the ballot now in California to pass a wealth tax, and it starts as a one time 5% tax for billionaires, but it gives the legislature in California the ability to lower the threshold and make it every year if they wanted to and change the percentage.”
Friedberg states California faces 250 billion to 1 trillion dollars in unpaid retirement obligations making it functionally bankrupt.
“And I'm talking about somewhere between 250,000,000,000 and $1,000,000,000,000. California is bankrupt. That is a major Right. Fact that is completely ignored by”
Friedberg states California cannot pay retirement obligations of $250 billion to $1 trillion without legal restructuring.
“there's no way that California can make enough revenue to pay the retirement obligations that they've made to existing employees and past employees, and you're not legally allowed to restructure those employment retirement obligations.”
Friedberg states California has 600 billion to one trillion dollar pension shortfall.
“The estimate currently is that there's 600,000,000,000 to a trillion dollars in the whole. Okay?”
Friedberg states that 80 billion of California's 100 billion in new tax revenue went to public pensions, not schools.
“Not a big chunk, but I've done my part. And 80,000,000,000 of that went to increase and it was supposed to go to increasing schools and, like, health care services.”
Friedberg warns California wealth tax would tax already-taxed private property for the first time.
“That's now your private property. You own this stuff. That's yours. So now comes along the government or this new bill, the billionaire tax act in California.”
Friedberg details California's revenue concentration: 150,000 people (top 1%) pay $70 billion, one-third of state's total revenue.
“That is 211,000,000,000 of revenue the state generates. A 142 of it comes from personal income tax. The top 1%, 150,000 people pay 70,000,000,000, pay half of that tax of that income.”
Friedberg argues California's AI legislation made no sense and couldn't map to current technology, justifying industry self-regulation.
“As we saw in California, when California tried to pass AI legislation, I think it was about a year, a year and a half ago, none of what they wrote even made sense at the time, But fast forward a year, none of those kind of rules and requirements actually map to the technology of the day.”