The Daily Signal

Coming off the heels of an already highly partisan, controversial ballot initiative season, Golden State voters are again being presented a choice that will have ramifications for generations to come: The Billionaire Tax Act. During the upcoming general election this fall, California voters will choose whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on residents with net worths over $1 billion, with the goal of raising over $100 billion.  California Representative Ro Khanna, a purported 2028 presidential hopeful whose district includes the corporate headquarters of Silicon Valley’s elites, like Apple and Intel, has already endorsed the wealth tax. Makes sense? No, not really. California’s roughly 200 billionaires,  “pay 47% of the taxes that go into the general fund.  And what we're doing here in California is we have decided that we need to make a hundred billion dollars, right? And the way to get to it is to create this tax on things that have not been sold yet. So the way to get to it is to do a one time 5% charge on the 200 earners in the state that pay the most in taxes already,” argues Daily Signal California Commentator Elaine Culotti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In war, dependable access to oil is as important as dependable access to kinetic arms. Access to ample reliable flows of oil represents a key strategic interest to the United States.  Western Canada sends over 4 million barrels a day of heavy crude to American refiners.  But now with access to the massive flows of Venezuelan crude following the Trump-led ousting of Nicolas Maduro last week, the U.S. may soon no longer need to rely on Canada for this vital strategic resource.  For months, Canada used its vast reserve of natural resources as leverage in its tariff negotiations with the U.S. Not anymore.  “If the Monroe Doctrine warned Europeans to stay out of the Western Hemisphere and the Roosevelt Corollary established American intervention therein, then the ‘Trump Corollary’ has put a finer, and more economic point on the matter that’s best summed up in two words: America first,” argues Chief Heritage Foundation Economist E.J. Antoni for The Daily Signal on this special video commentary. Keep Up With The Daily Signal Sign up for our email newsletters:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.dailysignal.com/email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠     Subscribe to our other shows: Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words:  https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9753340027 The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL2284199939 The Signal Sitdown: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL2026390376   Problematic Women:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL7765680741     Follow The Daily Signal:    X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=DailySignal Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Truth Social:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1    Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**This episode was recorded before Victor Davis Hanson's December 30 medical operation** Whether it’s some within the Minneapolis Somali community racking in millions of dollars from government grants for fraudulent businesses or severely unqualified illegal aliens obtaining commercial truck driving licenses, these groups were “categorized by officials as on the victimized, oppressed side of the lecture. And therefore, they were not completely audited. Because, if they had been audited, the cries of racism, nativism, etc., prejudice, bias would’ve been voiced. And people didn’t want to be exposed to that,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” These non-meritocratic DEI recipients are thrown into a self-perpetuating system that encourages them to continuously engage in illegal activity as they will never face consequences for their actions. When audits stop, deterrence dies—and corruption thrives. (00:00) Introduction to DEI Issues (00:56) Fraud and Exemptions in DEI (02:39) The Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Victimization (04:29) The Downfall of Meritocracy (05:23) The Future of DEI 👉 The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: http://dailysignal.com/donate 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest short videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1⁠ Also on Spotify: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9753340027 👉Want more VDH? Watch Victor’s weekly, hour-long podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” now! Subscribe to his YouTube channel, and enable notifications:  https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1 👉More exclusive content is available on Victor’s website: https://victorhanson.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economic booms are usually defined by  “greater productivity,” increased foreign investment, “reasonable” interest rates, “energy production,” and “plentiful deregulation and tax cuts.” But will any of this happen in 2026? Hanson predicts we’ll “see an economic bonanza” in 2026 as “there's going to be more oil,”  “ new technologies,” and “all sorts of tax cuts” and “more deregulation than we've ever seen” in the Big Beautiful Bill on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”  “ Add it all up: We've had an unexpectedly—unexpectedly, unexpectedly—good third quarter. I imagine the fourth quarter might be just as good if it were not for the government shutdown—the longest in history—that occurred in the fourth quarter, but we'll see.  But more importantly: more foreign investment, more tax cuts, more deregulation, more energy development, lower interest, and I think you're gonna see an economic bonanza.” 00:00 Introduction: What Makes an Economy Boom? 00:34 Unexpected Economic Trends 01:18 Analyzing Trump’s Third Quarter Growth 02:56 Future Economic Predictions for 2026 04:43 Conclusion: Preparing for the Unexpected 👉 The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: http://dailysignal.com/donate 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest short videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1⁠  Also on Spotify: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9753340027  👉Want more VDH? Watch Victor’s weekly, hour-long podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” now! Subscribe to his YouTube channel, and enable notifications:  https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1 👉More exclusive content is available on Victor’s website: https://victorhanson.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Congress argues over whether it was “overreaching by the Trump administration” to capture Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro, it’s important to remember that Venezuela was “ not a free and open society” for the past two decades, reminds Daily Signal California Commentator Elaine Culotti.     Culotti urges Californians to see Venezuela as a reminder to take their civic duty of voting seriously in the state’s upcoming elections. “ If we don't vote differently, we can't change things. And the fact that we have the power to vote is such a miracle. It's such a freedom. It's such an honor to have the power to choose the people that you want to run your country, your state, your town, your school, your insurance, everything… We should be celebrating it every day, and we should be taking advantage of it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices