The ultra-rich are spending one million dollars a day fighting California’s proposed billionaire tax
Tech billionaires have raised more than $340m to defeat Prop 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax that will fund healthcare and education
TL;DR
- Tech billionaires have raised more than $340 million to oppose California's Proposition 40, a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires.
- The opposition campaign is spending over $1 million daily on advertisements, robotexts, and mailers.
- Proposition 40 aims to fund healthcare programs, with some allocation for education and food assistance.
- The measure has divided Democrats, with some supporting it and others opposing it.
- Key opponents include tech figures like Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, and Sergey Brin, with Brin being the largest donor.
- Proponents, including unions and progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders, view the tax as a step towards addressing wealth inequality.
- Recent polls show Proposition 40's lead shrinking due to increased opposition spending.
- Two additional ballot measures, Proposition 41 and 42, have been placed by opponents to potentially thwart Proposition 40.
- The 'no' campaign is framing the tax as an 'everyone tax' that would harm various segments of the population, not just billionaires.
- The 'yes' campaign is utilizing social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to reach younger audiences and highlight the issue of wealth inequality.