Midway through this summer, a high-quality poll found that Democrats in California were overwhelmingly in favor of the upcoming ballot measure for a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth.
The ratio was more than 4 to 1. But the state’s most powerful Democrats – including the governor Gavin Newsom, his near-certain successor Xavier Becerra and the Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass – have lined up with Silicon Valley billionaires who’ve raised upward of $340m to defeat the initiative.
Liberals need to make the case that some things are not amenable to free market solutions. Healthcare is one: everyone puts an infinite value on their existential health, meaning there is no reason for healthcare providers to not maximize fees, all out of proportion to their own costs. Healthcare, utilities, these need to be regulated by the state, strongly.