SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As Democrats post their biggest gains in decades, a historic tax on California billionaires appears doomed to failure. This is a notable exception, because progressives elsewhere rode their populist fervor to victory — and the campaign may have been undone as much by its supporters’ own missteps as by opponents spending more than $300 million.
Long before the billionaire opposition formed, union leaders were deeply divided over the ballot proposal. The measure devoted almost all of its revenue to health care, and its sponsor implemented it without broad consensus. These flaws cost the campaign key supporters, left him without enough moneyto mount a serious response and has allowed billionaire opponents to amplify and exploit disagreements between groups that typically support taxing the rich.
“What a waste,” said Jim Mangiapresident of a health clinic chain that supports Proposition 40 and has worked with David ReganTHE main union leader behind it all, in the past. “What a waste of resources and a wasted opportunity. There was no coalition, they pissed everyone off, and many of those natural allies who would have supported him refused.”
The senator Bernie Sanders called Prop 40, which would have imposed the nation’s first-ever wealth tax, the most significant ballot initiative in America. The study tested whether populist anger over rising income inequality could translate into policy, serve as a model for similar efforts elsewhere, and demonstrate that the appetite for wealth taxes can overcome unlimited resources. His likely defeat could instead send a warning that a message of taxing the rich can falter even in deep blue territory when Democratic leaders are divided.
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