A march in support of the California billionaires didn’t exactly draw a huge crowd on Saturday — the San Francisco Chronicle counted about three dozen participants, along with another dozen tongue-lashing counter-protesters.
To be fair, organizer Derik Kauffman only predicted a “several dozen” turnout ahead of time. But the incoherent idea of a “March for Billionaires” has caused an overreaction on social media. And according to Mission Local, reporters nearly outnumbered protesters at the event itself, where marchers carried signs like “We ❤️ You Jeffrey Bezos” and “It’s very hard to write a subtle argument on a sign.”
The ostensible reason for the demonstration was to protest the Billionaire Tax Act, a proposed state ballot measure that would require Californians worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their total wealth. If the measure does pass, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he will veto it.
Kauffman, who founded AI startup RunRL and is not a billionaire himself, told reporters: “I believe California is the only state that provides health insurance to people who come into the country illegally. I think we probably shouldn’t provide it.” (Fourteen states offer health care to undocumented immigrants.)