California Insider

I stumbled across this interesting nugget while reading Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King's early take on this spring's NFL draft. King says that Reggie Bush, the USC running back and Heisman Trophy winner, is eager to play in Houston in part because Texas has no state income tax. That fact could save him several hundred thousand dollars a year, based on his projected first-year salary.

I've never suggested that California repeal its income tax, especially to help our sports teams lure star players. But, if true, this insight is only the latest evidence that on the margin, people do make decisions based on how much tax they are going to have to pay. And wealthy people usually have more flexibility in making those decisions than the rest of us. Finally, with our tax structure, it would only take a few thousand people in Reggie Bush's projected income class to move away and send California's tax revenues spiraling downward again.

Jay Mathews explains how "teaching to the test" usually means teaching to the standards, which is a different and generally positive thing.