Proposition 40, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires to help fund healthcare, appeared headed for defeat, though votes were still being counted.

Opponents raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight the measure, far outspending supporters, who argued the tax could help offset federal healthcare cuts.

The campaign also faced opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom, teachers, business groups and others, while voters weighed concerns about taxing assets and the possibility that billionaires could leave California.

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[–] 20 points 1 day ago (5 children)

This is absolutely the stupidest fucking outcome for prop 40, genuinely. No, it was not and is not perfect. But literally any downwards wealth redistribution is an objective good, full stop. Anyone who voted for this who isnt, at poorest, a few tens of millions away from being a billionaire, is an abject idiot.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    Apparently the airwaves were absolutely bombarded with misleading ads about this prop.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago

    Yup, it was a case of people not doing their due diligence and actually digging into the bill. They saw the 30 second spot, paid for by billionaires, that said taxing billionaires was bad because [fill in the lie] and they just went with that.

    It's not surprising that Americans don't do their due diligence when it comes to voting, but it is, and always will be, very disappointing.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago (1 child)

    literally any downwards wealth redistribution is an objective good, full stop

    Not if you spend all your political capital doing so. We need a nation-wide wealth tax. A one-time wealth tax in a single state is basically a payment for the wealthy to leave the state. They're given more than enough time between the vote and enactment of the tax to establish residency in another state

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