We must tax the wealth of billionaires, not just income. California can lead the way | Ro Khanna

Will California stand with the working class or the oligarchs in the vote this November? The Democratic party has a choice to make. Are we going to be New Deal Democrats or corporate Democrats? Are we standing with the working class or the tech oligarchs? Proposition 40, California’s billionaire tax, is the most important ballot initiative in America and a fight for the soul of our party. Senator Bernie Sanders and I stand with the nurses and healthcare workers who put Prop 40 on the ballot.

Governor Gavin Newsom stands with Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin and Elon Musk, Trump backers who all oppose it. Prop 40 is a one-time 5% tax on the roughly 250 billionaires who live in the state. Together they hold wealth equal to half of California’s economy. That wealth is up 20% this year alone. If they paid this tax, they would be worth the same as they were on Labor Day of this year. That’s the speed at which their wealth is growing. The tax would raise about