Populist Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday formally kicked off the campaign to place a billionaires tax on the November ballot, framing the proposal as something larger than a debate about economic and tax policy as he appeared at a storied Los Angeles venue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society. They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs,\u201d he told about 2,000 people at the Wiltern. The independent senator from Vermont compared them to kings, queens and czars of yore who believed they had a divine right to rule. <\/p>\n
These billionaires \u201chave created huge businesses with revolutionary technologies like AI and robotics that are literally transforming the face of the Earth,\u201d he said, \u201cand they are saying to you and to everybody in America, who the hell do you think you are telling us what we \u2014 the ruling elite, the millionaires, the billionaires, the richest people on Earth \u2014 who do you think you are telling us what we can do or not?\u201d <\/p>\n
California voters can show the billionaires \u201cthat we are still living in a democratic society where the people have some power,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n
The senator is promoting a labor union\u2019s proposal to impose a one-time 5% tax<\/a> on the assets of California billionaires and trusts to backfill federal healthcare funding cuts by the Trump administration. Supporters of the contentious effort began gathering voter signatures to place the measure on the November ballot earlier this year. Sanders previously endorsed the proposal <\/a>on social media and in public statements, and said he would seek to create a national version of the wealth tax.<\/p>\n But Wednesday\u2019s event, a rally that lasted more than two hours and featured a lengthy performance by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, was framed as the formal launch of the campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people are free to choose between five-star restaurants, while others choose which dumpster will provide their next meal,\u201d Morello said. \u201cSome are free to choose between penthouse suites, while others are free to choose in which gutter to lay their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n The guitarist\u2019s comments came amid a set that included Rage\u2019s protest song \u201cKilling in the Name\u201d and Bruce Springsteen\u2019s social justice ballad \u201cThe Ghost of Tom Joad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who\u2019ve changed the world in progressive, radical or even revolutionary ways,\u201d Morello said, \u201cdid not have any more money, power, courage, intelligence or creativity than anyone here tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Milling about outside the Wiltern, a historic Art Deco venue, were workers being paid $10 per signature they gathered to help qualify the proposal for the November ballot. Inside, attendees heard from labor leaders, healthcare workers and others whose lives are being affected by federal funding cuts to healthcare.<\/p>\n Lisandro Preza said he was speaking not only only as a leader of Unite Here Local 11, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers, but also as someone who has AIDS and recently lost his medical coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, this fight is very personal. Without my health coverage, the thought of going to the emergency room is terrifying,\u201d he said. \u201cThat injection I rely on costs nearly $10,000 a month. That shot keeps my disease under control. Without it, my health, my life, are at risk, and I\u2019m not alone. Millions of Americans are facing the same after massive federal healthcare cuts are putting our hospitals on the brink of collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanders, who punctuated his remarks with historic statistics about wealth in the United States and anecdotes about billionaires\u2019 purchases of multiple yachts and planes, tied the impending healthcare cuts to broader problems of growing income and wealth inequality; the consolidation of corporate ownership, including over media outlets; the decline in workers\u2019 wages despite increased productivity; and the threats to the job market of artificial intelligence and automation. He said all these issues were grounded in the greed of the nation\u2019s wealthiest residents.<\/p>\n \u201cFor these people, enough is never enough,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are dedicated to accumulating more and more wealth and power … no matter how many low-income and working-class people will die because they no longer have health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShame! Shame!\u201d the audience screamed.<\/p>\n In addition to the wealth tax event, Sanders also plans to use his time in California to meet with tech leaders and speak on Friday at Stanford University about the effects of artificial intelligence and automation on American workers alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont). <\/p>\n Millions of California voters deeply support the Vermont senator, who won the state\u2019s 2020 Democratic presidential primary over Joe Biden by eight points, and narrowly lost the 2016 Democratic primary<\/a> to Hillary Clinton. <\/p>\n Sanders were the first presidential candidate Elle Parker, 30, ever cast a ballot for in a presidential election. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s inspired me,\u201d said the podcaster, who lives in East Hollywood. \u201cI just love the way he uses his words to inspire us all.\u201d <\/p>\n Supporters proposed the wealth tax to make up for the massive federal funding cuts to healthcare that Trump signed last year. The California Budget & Policy Center estimates that as many as 3.4 million Californians could lose Medi-Cal coverage, rural hospitals could shutter, and other healthcare services would be slashed unless a new funding source is found.<\/p>\n But the tax proposal is controversial, creating a notable schism among the state\u2019s Democrats because of concerns that it will prompt an exodus of the state\u2019s wealthy, who are the major source of revenue that buttresses California\u2019s volatile budget.<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom is among the Democrats who oppose it, as is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is among the dozen candidates running<\/a> to replace the termed-out governor.<\/p>\n Mahan argued that the proposal had already hurt the state\u2019s finances by driving economic investment and tax revenue out of California to tax-friendly environs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need ideas that are sound, not just political proposals that sound good,\u201d he said. \u201cThe answer is to close the federal tax loopholes the ultra-wealthy use to escape paying their fair share and invest those funds in paying down our debt, rebuilding our infrastructure, and protecting our most vulnerable families from skyrocketing healthcare premiums. The only winners in this proposal are the workers and taxpayers of Florida and Texas, who will take our jobs and benefit from the capital and tax revenue California is losing.\u201d<\/p>\n