Tom Steyer is pushing a 2026 ballot measure to close what he's calling the "Trump Tax Loophole"—but critics say he's rebranding a 1978 Democratic law and inflating potential revenue by up to 150% over official state estimates. Meanwhile, a separate SEIU-UHW "billionaire tax" initiative has already triggered a real-time wealth exodus, with tracking data showing 48 billionaires—including Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin—have left the state, taking an estimated $1.1 trillion in wealth with them. Even Governor Newsom is warning his own party that these tax measures will backfire, as California simultaneously faces an $18 billion deficit despite record revenues and new data showing cities are taxing affordable housing projects out of existence.
California's most powerful environmental justice group thinks your right to own a home is a colonial relic. They're killing housing to prove it.