SILICON VALLEY — In California, a Democratic stronghold, a ballot initiative to impose a wealth tax on billionaires is drawing more attention than the midterm elections themselves. The reason is that the tax divides opinion even within the Democratic camp and among its supporters.
In San Jose and Sunnyvale, California, street rallies in defense of democracy unfolded on the 24th. The event was a regularly scheduled "Tesla Takedown" protest, but with the election approaching, placards criticizing President Donald Trump and the Republican Party appeared in large numbers, giving the gathering the feel of an anti-Trump demonstration. Tesla Takedown is a boycott campaign launched to demand an end to what organizers call oligarchy, targeting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration. The protests are held outside Tesla showrooms across the country.
California is electing members of the U.S. House and Senate as well as a governor in this election while also putting 14 ballot measures to a vote, making turnout a bigger question there than in any other state. In one unusual sight, a driver had written a message on a car's rear window in marker pen urging people to vote early.
Interest in early voting in California is particularly intense because of Proposition 40. The measure would impose a 5% tax on the assets of billionaires with a net worth of $1 billion (1.327 trillion won) or more, and it has been cited as the reason Google co-founder Sergey Brin left California. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also recently weighed moving out of the state but decided to stay after opting to raise funds by issuing non-voting shares.
The wealth tax divides Democratic politicians as well. Gov. Gavin Newsom has come out against it, while U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna pushed back, saying: "My sense is billionaires will stay and figure out ways to pay the tax. Gavin, you and Sergey Brin should stop fearmongering about a billionaire exodus."
In a poll released on the 19th by the Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research at UC Berkeley and Politico, 46% backed passage of the wealth tax and 43% opposed it. Prediction market websites put the chances of passage at below 30%, and the San Francisco Democratic Party passed a resolution opposing the tax in August.