00:00The California Democrats have officially endorsed Proposition 40, the billionaire tax,
00:05even though Governor Gavin Newsom and gubernatorial candidate Javier Becerra
00:10have both said that they oppose the tax.
00:12The billionaire tax is very popular among the party's left-wing base.
00:16It's supported by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont,
00:20as well as all of the people Sanders has brought into the party and whom he has energized.
00:25The socialists essentially are taking over from within,
00:28and it's their vote that put Proposition 40 over the top.
00:32Though, very interestingly, the Democrats could not quite reach the 60 percent threshold on the first ballot.
00:39At the party convention, the proposition only got about 59 percent.
00:45Then they had a second vote on a related measure that also fell just short of 60.
00:49And finally, on a third vote, the billionaire tax reached that crucial 60-point threshold for the party's endorsement.
00:57It puts Gavin Newsom and Javier Becerra in a rather uncomfortable position.
01:01It also puts several unions in a difficult position because the unions have been splitting over Proposition 40.
01:07The SEIU, United Healthcare Workers West, put the billionaire tax on the ballot,
01:11and it's supposed to fund health care with the revenue it generates.
01:16But there are other unions that have opposed the billionaire tax because they believe,
01:21as many people in the business world believe, it's going to chase wealthy investors out of the state.
01:25In fact, it's doing so already.
01:26And some economists say that the revenues that come in from the billionaire tax will actually be lower
01:32because so many billionaires will have left.
01:35And even though you might get some of their wealth, you're not going to get their future income.
01:38If it passes in November, which polls suggest it could, then it would be the nation's first ever wealth tax.
01:45It's not even clear that it's constitutional, but it would set a precedent for Democrats to try the same thing
01:50in other states.
01:51It would also energize the Republican opposition, not just in California, where Republicans are in a small minority, but nationwide.
01:58In other words, if Democrats do it in California, they're going to try it where you live, you'd better vote
02:03Republican.
02:03That's going to be the message going into the midterm elections.
02:05So there's a lot more at stake in November on Proposition 40 than just the wealth of a few billionaires.
02:11It's also about the direction of the Democratic Party and the fate of the midterm elections.
Comments