Pearl River      There’s a lot of heavy breathing about a union-backed ballot proposition in California that would apply a one-time tax on billionaires.  Some billionaires seem upset about paying the tax.  The founders of Google have attracted a lot of attention claiming they are moving to Florida and elsewhere.  These were the same guys that promised to do no evil, but seem to have also meant that they would do little good as well.  The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has said he is opposed and will try to keep the measure off the ballot.  Some billionaires are already ponying up money to stop the effort in its tracks.  Given all of these billionaires crying like stuck pigs, it’s hard for me not to believe that this isn’t a great and righteous campaign.

The initiative is being sponsored by SEIU’s United Healthcare Workers West, which represents a bunch of hospitals and nursing home workers in California and elsewhere.  The union’s president, Dave Regan, is a friend and comrade from Local 100’s twenty-five years as an SEIU affiliate, so some might say that I’m biased.  Not really.  Dave has correctly advocated for the use of ballot initiatives to make change and built power for years within SEIU, which is an identical strategy to one that ACORN used successfully for decades to raise minimum wages, reduce taxes on food and medicine, and lower utility rates.  Being able to put our issues on the ballot – win or lose – forced concessions and changes when other avenues were blocked.

In this case, Dave and the local union are arguing that this one one-time tax would offset the impact of Trump’s big bad budget bill by helping cushion the cuts in Medicaid, food stamps, and education programs.  Do the billionaires have a better plan?  No, I don’t think so.  I’m not hearing them volunteering to help make up the losses, rather than taking their private jets to Washington and paying for favors from the president.  In the states where these tools of popular democracy exist, why not let people decide on issues that affect them?

This initiative isn’t on the ballot yet, and that can be a climb, but the union has done this before, and I’m betting they can do this again.  What is more interesting to me is the arguments being made against it.  If successful, it could produce $10 billion.  The governor says he opposes because, if a bunch of billionaires leave the state, it could cost them “hundreds of millions or more in continuing revenue,” according to the Times.  The math favors the union.  If in fact some billionaires left the state, even if the state lost $200 million a year in revenue, it would take 50 years for that revenue to equal the $10 billion right now.  That makes the tax a painless windfall.

All of these arguments are also premised on an assumption that billionaires are paying their fair share of taxes now to the state and elsewhere.  Who believes that?  One report after another has revealed how many ways most billionaires avoid taxes through various schemes and shelters, so “me thinks they doth protest too much.”  The union says there are 200 billionaires in state.  Obviously, the richest would pay more.  If they all paid the same, each would pay $500 million.  If the poorest paid their 5% once, it would be $50 million.  Truth to tell, a one-time 5% bite isn’t going to send any of them to the poor house.  The Google founders for example are each worth about $250 billion, so they each might have to cough up around $12.5 billion.  Yes, that’s more money than most of us can imagine, but it’s hard to weep too much when they would both be left with over $237 billion still.

All of this is a good thing to fight about.  I can’t say what people in California really think about all of this, but at the bottom line, the union is right to do something for their members and the people of the state, so they can’t be faulted for taking their best shot.  If the billionaires are afraid of facing the people in a democracy, why should we have any sympathy for them?  If they think they are right, then they can join the fight, rather than running for cover.  In what’s left of a democracy, we can’t mourn anyone who doesn’t believe in the will of the people enough to stand their ground.  Let them run for it, and let the people decide.