Because the whole "the rich" are 2 different things:
1) the superrich, couple thousand in the whole of the US, who indeed essentially set their own tax rate. This is what everyone likes talking about. Needless to say, they're not the source of tax revenues, and they're NOT who government is talking about when discussing "raising taxes on the rich"
2) the "rich" as in double US average income or more. Anyone making 100k or more. Most California cops fall under this definition. These are people who will see their taxes raised, who pay for the state. This is who the government is talking about when discussing taxes.
You're talking about group 1. "Tax payments from the rich" is talking about group 2.
If you work in The Bay, Los Angeles, or San Diego - $100k is not far from the median.
One of the strangest things about CA is that people aren't aware that incomes are actually quite high. Everyone thinks they're crushing it and wonders why they aren't. It's because $100k is far from rich - it's close to the median.
$200k for a HH won't even put you in the top 10% in some pretty large areas of the state.
1) the superrich, couple thousand in the whole of the US, who indeed essentially set their own tax rate. This is what everyone likes talking about. Needless to say, they're not the source of tax revenues, and they're NOT who government is talking about when discussing "raising taxes on the rich"
2) the "rich" as in double US average income or more. Anyone making 100k or more. Most California cops fall under this definition. These are people who will see their taxes raised, who pay for the state. This is who the government is talking about when discussing taxes.
You're talking about group 1. "Tax payments from the rich" is talking about group 2.