The key problem is this: Why would billionaires permanently leave California in response to a one-time tax owed if they lived there on January 1, 2026? It would only make sense for them to leave if the tax becomes annual. But if the tax becomes annual, it would also generate revenue annually — by virtue of, well, being annual.

Californians are currently voting on a one-time 5% billionaire tax: Proposition 40. This is a unique opportunity to start addressing one of the great absurdities of our time —that billionaires pay so little in taxes. If it passes, it could kickstart the movement for a national billionaire tax and inspire similar initiatives other countries. This is how we move from 19th century charity to 21st century democracy.

Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many.

A nice old building burns, and so the pearl-clutching begins. Where were these pearl clutchers when austerity was wrecking a generation? Why does one town hall grab their attention but millions of schools, hospitals, and homes dilapidated by neoliberalism are of no importance?

I don't approve at all of the insane violence on the streets of France and this, on both sides (demonstrators *and* police). But in our age of staggering inequality and utter powerlessness of middle classes around the world, we can always count on the French to remind the world that the *people* is actually what counts most. You can have various moguls, oligarchs, and billionaires-soon-to-be trillionaires fool themselves into believing they are safe and protected, but if the people get too angry, French history reminds us that even they might very well end up under the guillotine anyway. Time for a reality check and some modesty. The insane wealth of some at the expense of the vast majority has never proved sustainable. Inequality only breeds violence. We must absolutely reverse this trend. No one needs a trillion dollars to live well.

I don't want flying cars. I want clean water. I want a stable climate. I want bees to survive.

I've noticed that I never see people say "that money could have been used to feed people" whenever Disney spends half a billion dollars on a Marvel movie.

Tax billionaire wealth. I frankly don't care if a billionaire can make a second billion. I'd rather have the average person be able to make their first $100k.

I usually don’t agree with a lot of things @SenWarren says, but on this one she is 100% correct. Private equity has destroyed SO many storied brands.

Nobel Prize-winning MIT economist Daron Acemoglu fears unemployment could triple over the next decade if nothing is done and we stay on our current course. cbsn.ws/4zzQZlF

Shop at any of these grocery stores? Kroger Fred Meyer Ralphs Food for Less Mariano’s Smith’s Harris Teeter Seems like a lot of competition—except that every one is owned by Kroger. Now Kroger is trying to buy another: Giant Eagle. And when competition dies, you pay more.