1. What do you say to the millions of Californians who polls show are unhappy about the higher cost of living and their perception that quality of life has been declining in their communities?
We cannot just nibble around the edges on affordability with catchy slogans or by saving Californians a couple dollars on their morning coffee. California’s cost crisis isn’t a talking point for me — stretching every dollar to make ends meet is something that I understand firsthand, something a billionaire or corporate-backed candidates have never had to worry about. Families are not just a gallon of gas short each month, they are hundreds or thousands of dollars from earning a middle-class income. I’m running for governor to bring down costs on the biggest line items in families’ budgets: housing, child care, health care and more.
As governor, I will deliver free child care for all, so that families can stay in the workforce and afford high-quality care and early childhood education that will create dividends for our economy. I will return California to its promise of zero tuition at all UCs and CSUs, so every California student can get a four-year college degree without going into debt. I will fight for single-payer health care to put patients before profits. To bring down housing costs for renters and homeowners, I will revise our laws so California builds housing at the same speed as our peer states. This will cut housing costs by 10%-20%. These are real affordability solutions that will deliver real help for Californians.
2. Do you support a bill before the Legislature that would kill the key provision of the 2012 pension reforms championed by Gov. Jerry Brown: the requirement that public employees must pay at least 50% of the “normal cost” of their pension benefits?
Pensions are promises to the hardworking Californians who have devoted their careers to public service. As governor, I will fight to protect the pension benefits that public employees have earned. The bill would allow unions to negotiate their contributions to their pensions with localities, rather than imposing a uniform statewide requirement on them. There is no immediate cost to this bill; it would be up to jurisdictions to negotiate with public employees.
3. Do you support the “billionaires tax” or any other specific proposed tax hikes? Why?
No one in this race has fought harder than me to fix our broken economy, which too often puts billionaires and giant corporations first and California families last. The particular “billionaires tax” that may be on the November ballot is not sound progressive tax policy. Here’s why: First, California does not have one-time needs but this is a one-time tax. What we do have is massive wealth and income inequality, and millions of families living paycheck to paycheck struggling to make ends meet. So, yes, we should be asking for the wealthiest among us to pay a little bit more and for our most profitable corporations to pitch in to help Californians thrive. Second, the money targets only a handful of people, and lets those with just under $1 billion off the hook entirely. California must work to stretch our tax dollars further and focus on oversight of expenses. For example, in Congress, I pressed leaders at the Pentagon, which has never passed an audit, when our tax dollars were being wasted. I’m also the only Democrat talking about a tax cut: eliminating state income tax on families earning less than $100,000.
4. Is there a specific issue that you feel does not get enough attention?
I am the only candidate in this race who isn’t taking corporate money. I never have and never will. Californians deserve to have leaders who put them first, not corporate donors. In Congress, I held big corporations and Trump officials accountable — with and without my whiteboard. That’s why I have the backing of nearly a dozen labor unions and elected officials like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia, who know that I will fight tirelessly for hardworking Californians and their families — not for the special-interest status quo.
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