As we look to 2018, we face a Republican Party that has unmasked the wholesale greed that fuels its existence. There is no starker symbol of this greed than Trump’s declaration, after the GOP Tax Scam vote, to wealthy partygoers at his coastal resort this Christmas: “You all just got a lot richer!”
Rest is required for us to resume the fight. I hope that your holidays have been full of the community and support we need to take back our state and our country from the bought politicians who are slowly killing us.
The GOP’s votes last week pushed into law the largest tax overhaul in the last three decades. The 1% and corporations are the greatest beneficiaries. To say this will cause inequality to skyrocket is a understatement; this is one of the largest redistributions of wealth in our history. Even after raising taxes on the majority of Americans, eliminating Obamacare’s individual mandate (which will lead to 13 million Americans losing their healthcare in the next decade), and eliminating graduate students’ ability to write off their tuition, there will still be an estimated budget deficit of as much as $2.2 trillion dollars! And we’ve no doubt that the Republicans will respond by swooping back in to cut what little benefits we have left, effectively taking every last crumb from us to give the elites the entire loaf.
We cannot rely on politics as usual to save us. Corporations give broadly to both major parties, and here in California, despite a supermajority of Democrats in the the legislature, pharma, oil, and finance lobbyists still run the show. Our governor, a staunch Democrat lauded for cap and trade legislation, was recently booed at the Bonn, Germany climate summit for inaction on actually stopping fracking and offshore drilling. California is NOT taking the steps required to curb corporate greed!
My corporate-free, nonpartisan candidacy for Lt. Governor is about taking the fight TO the corporations, not just resisting them. I am working to organize hundreds of communities throughout the state for progressive change – already, we have have won the formal endorsements of 30 Our Revolution chapters throughout the state, along with many other organizational chapters from the Green Party to the DSA, and the Peace and Freedom Party and Movement for a People’s Party. Many eyes are now open – the GOP’s extreme attacks on the people of this country, the crass nature of our current president, all of these injustices are creating a new political awareness. We must seize this moment for real, people-focused change!
How can we do this? First, everyone running for federal office must pledge to “repeal and replace” this terrible tax bill. Second, here in California, there are clear policy goals we can organize for that will return wealth and power to the people of our state:
Corporate Prop. 13 reform. About a third of California corporations benefit from unfair tax breaks under a law that was advertised as protecting seniors. It’s time to end this corporate tax system that lets Chevron take advantage of benefits meant for struggling homeowners! Local governments and our public schools will see $9 billion in returned revenues with this reform.
Oil extraction tax. Oil companies spend tens of millions buying politicians, but here in California they skirt the kind of taxes that benefit Alaska and Texas. How is this possible! First we ban fracking, then we tax extraction, progressively higher each year, using those revenues to fund the shift to renewable energy.
Tax the rich. I will organize for a progressive tax increase that goes up 1% for each million in taxable income, up to 12% above current rates. This “Fair Share tax” will raise billions for education and infrastructure in California.
It is clear that if we actually want an economy that works for the people, we have to get corporate cash out of our elections. Any politician who takes thousands or millions from corporate PACs cannot be a true people’s representative.
My entire political career has been corporate free and that is how we built Richmond Progressive Alliance which now holds a supermajority on Richmond’s City Council. If we want living wages for workers, healthcare as a right, and corporations to pay their fair share, it’s time to make a stand – corporate-free, or no money from me!
You are the fuel for my campaign, and our momentum is growing. The conditions are set for the political revolution in 2018.
Please click here to make a contribution of any size to my people-first campaign!
Thank you for your energy and support!