One of life’s enduring mysteries is why California, the technology capital of the world and New York, the financial capital of the world, impose virtually the highest taxes on investment returns on the planet.

Talk about slaying the goose that lays the golden eggs. It would be like Nebraska imposing the world’s highest taxes on corn production or Texas the highest tax on oil.

It should be no surprise that California’s Silicon Valley, though still dominant in tech, is losing its wide lead. And Wall Street keeps battering investors with “soak the rich” tax policies that are diminishing its stock trading primacy.