The danger of relying on the top earners is that the wealthy have wildly fluctuating incomes, which means that California state revenues will also fluctuate. If funds are not set aside in a rainy day fund during economic booms (which they haven’t been) then during an economic downturn, tax revenues dry up. One of the major concerns of Governor Brown’s newest tax proposal is that it relies, to an even greater extent, on the wealthy–adding 3% to California’s top tax bracket.