(June 26, 2026)
“The misdirect here is that Newsom is opposing a WEALTH tax on billionaires in his own state and insisting he supports a new national INCOME tax on billionaires. But billionaires make money off non-income sources.”
Archiv: Reichtum / Überklasse / richdom / haves / have-mores („wealth“) / overclass
Democratic socialists eye 2028 White House race
(June 25, 2026)
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are eyeing a 2028 presidential bid in the wake of recent electoral successes across the country.
DSA Co-chair Ashik Siddique told The Hill in a Thursday interview that the organization has more than 100,000 members and 200 chapters across the country. “We want people to be talking proactively about what they would want to see in a presidential campaign,” he said. The organization is looking to see how voters would engage and what would motivate them, he added.
California billionaire tax headed for ballot despite top Democrats’ opposition
The push to put a billionaire tax to a popular vote in blue California has exposed deep divides on the left, even as Democratic politicians across the country rally around calls for the wealthy to pay more. The issue is pitting the populist mood of the public against many Democrats’ fears that the measure will push the ultrawealthy to join a broader exodus from the state and take their tax dollars with them.
Gavin Newsom fails to stop California’s controversial billionaire tax from going to voters
(June 25, 2026)
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West President Dave Regan refused to back down on the billionaire tax.
Gavin Newsom moves to neutralize tax on billionaires
(January 12, 2026)
The conversations, reported here for the first time, have occurred intermittently for months as SEIU-UHW’s ballot initiative targeting billionaires migrated from the backrooms of California politics to the center of a raging debate about Silicon Valley and income inequality, sparking tech titans’ wrath and vows to move out of state.
“We’ve been at this for four months,” Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO, describing an “all-hands” effort that has included him meeting one-on-one with SEIU-UHW’s leader, Dave Regan.
A compromise does not appear imminent. A union official cast doubt on the possibility of a deal, saying the two sides do not currently have another meeting scheduled and framing a ballot fight as an inevitability.
California Billionaire Tax Act
Our solution: The California Billionaire Tax Act
We’re calling on California’s billionaires to step up and pay a one-time, emergency 5% tax to prevent the collapse of California healthcare and help fund California public K-14 education and state food assistance programs. This would protect healthcare jobs and ensure working people and families can get the care they need. The tax would be paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion — which is about 200 people who hold a combined wealth of $2 trillion.
Get the fact sheet: English | Spanish
Visit the campaign website.
American ‘Oligarchy’ Decried by Biden Gained $1.5 Trillion in His Term
(January 16, 2025)
The very richest Americans are among the biggest winners from President Joe Biden’s time in office, despite his farewell address warning of an “oligarchy” and a “tech industrial complex” that threaten US democracy.
The 100 wealthiest Americans got more than $1.5 trillion richer over the last four years, with tech tycoons including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg leading the way, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The top 0.1% gained more than $6 trillion, Federal Reserve estimates through September show.
U.S. Net Wealth Is Over $135 Trillion. Here’s Where That Money Resides.
(Sept 13, 2023)
At the Private and Public Sector Entity Levels. (In trillions of U.S. dollars)
PRIVATE SECTOR:
Households 121.9
Nonprofits 8.6
Noncorporate businesses 17.2
Total U.S. Private Sector 147.7
PUBLIC SECTOR:
Federal government – 21.3
State and local government 11.5
Total U.S. Public Sector – 9.8
Instrument discrepancies – 1.1
TOTAL U.S. WEALTH 136.8
James Talarico for Texas: It’s time to Start Flipping Tables.
James is an eighth-generation Texan, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian. As a state representative, he’s led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over Texas.
Now, he’s running for U.S. Senate to take his fight against corruption to Washington and win power back for working people.
U.S. Net Wealth Is Over $135 Trillion. Here’s Where That Money Resides.
(Sept 13, 2023)
At the Private and Public Sector Entity Levels. (In trillions of U.S. dollars)
PRIVATE SECTOR:
Households 121.9
Nonprofits 8.6
Noncorporate businesses 17.2
Total U.S. Private Sector 147.7
PUBLIC SECTOR:
Federal government – 21.3
State and local government 11.5
Total U.S. Public Sector – 9.8
Instrument discrepancies – 1.1
TOTAL U.S. WEALTH 136.8
The Case for California’s Billionaire Wealth Tax
(May 26, 2026)
A California ballot initiative that will be put to voters in November would tax just 5 percent of billionaires’ fortunes over five years. This trailblazing wealth tax would be a small (for the ultrawealthy) but important (for everyone else) step toward raising needed tax revenue and curbing the state’s runaway inequality.
The billionaire class in California includes roughly 250 households, a mere 0.001 percent of the state’s families. Yet its wealth now amounts to more than half of California’s entire annual economic output.
This means that if these billionaires spent all of their wealth, they could buy more than half of the goods and services produced in a year in the entire state.
Why the Price of Gas Is the Most Important Number in US Politics
Gasoline accounts for a shrinking share of household budgets, but its political power can still make or break a presidency.
Trump leaves Beijing with few wins but warm words for Xi
U.S. President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping.
Pomp & circumstance: Xi welcomes Trump before bilateral talks
Xi Jinping told President Trump their countries should be “partners rather than opponents” as they began a high-stakes summit in Beijing. Over two days of meetings, they are expected to discuss a range of thorny issues, including tech, trade and Taiwan.
The Rich Promised to Flee Mamdani’s New York. They Haven’t.
One of the strongest indicators of whether people or businesses are actually fleeing from a city is the housing and real estate market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many residents really did leave New York for the surrounding suburbs and other states, the city’s vacancy rates soared and rents dropped with demand, leading to “COVID discounts” at the height of the pandemic. This trend was even more extreme for the city’s commercial real estate, where vacancy rates doubled as more companies adopted remote work and shed office space.
Today nearly every indicator points to the opposite problem: demand is running hot and supply is lagging badly, especially when it comes to housing.
Warum die Republik keine Angst vor dem Niedergang der „S.P.D.“ haben muss
(January 16, 2018)
Im Falle eines Zusammenbruchs der „S.P.D.“ würde sich sofort eine sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands gründen.
Zur Zeit steht die im Kaiserreich gegründete und in den letzten sechzehn Jahren Krieg und Euro-Kapitalismus zwölf Jahre an der Regierung befindliche Partei „S.P.D.“ bei 18,5 Prozent. Mancher wird sich nun fragen, wie das ohne die „S.P.D.“ weitergehen soll. Genau das ist ja der Punkt: gar nicht. Das ist ein Grund zur Freude, nicht zur Sorge.
Die „S.P.D.“ ist eine Fantompartei. Ihre einzige Aufgabe ist es die Berliner Republik abzuwickeln, die sie nie gewollt hat und die ihrem Auftrag „Vereinigte Staaten von Europa“ genauso im Weg steht wie alle anderen Demokratien auf dem Kontinent. Diese machen den Deutschen wieder einmal vor, wie einfach es sein kann neue Parteien zu gründen, wenn einen die alten verraten.
Das müssen die Deutschen offensichtlich einfach noch lernen. Denn Demokratie ist wie Autofahren. Wer sie nicht kann, der will sie nicht, der will sie auch nicht lernen, sondern lieber einen Verkehrsunfall.
It’s Not Trump. It’s America.
Is Trump a freak of history or its fulfillment, an aberration or a culmination? The answer, surely, is both. But in the course of his presidency, Trump has revealed a much older malady: America’s unshakable faith in its ability to shape the world to its liking, indifferent to what others might want and supremely confident that its plan is the right one. Beyond Trump, it’s this disfiguring mentality we Americans must face.
Jeffrey Epstein had two key aides – why do they still control his money and secrets?
Richard Kahn (l) and Darren Indyke (r) have rarely been photographed in public
Alexander brothers’ judge orders US to withhold Epstein-linked material during sex trafficking trial
(February 3, 2026)
“[T]he United States must not release any document or material from the purported ‘Epstein Files’ that mentions or references any of the above-listed Defendants [Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander], explicitly or implicitly, before a jury verdict has been rendered in this case,” Caproni’s order says.
Caproni ordered U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to sign off on having notified U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about her order, as well as the U.S. deputy attorney general and U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Alexander Brothers Found Guilty on All Counts in Sex-Trafficking Trial
Three brothers, including two who were among the country’s most prominent real estate brokers, were convicted in Manhattan on Monday of engaging in a yearslong conspiracy to traffic women and girls for sex.
The brothers — Tal and Oren Alexander, who regularly closed multimillion-dollar real estate deals in New York and elsewhere, and Alon Alexander, a security executive — were found guilty on every count they each faced, and all could now receive up to life in prison when the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, sentences them on Aug. 6.
Alexander Brothers, Once Real-Estate Stars, Convicted of Sex Trafficking
Two former luxury real-estate brokers and their brother were convicted of sex trafficking Monday after a criminal trial in which 11 women testified that they had been lured to exclusive parties and trips, then drugged and assaulted.
The ‘Crazy’ Plot to Release the Epstein Files
Khanna’s staff and consultants tried to talk him out of pursuing such legislation, explaining that it could make him look like a conspiracy theorist, instead of his desired image as a “serious economics guy.” But Khanna explained to his staff that the topic of Epstein kept coming up, especially when he appeared on podcasts or visited the more conservative parts of his district. He recalled a young man delivering a long rant at a recent town hall about how he didn’t trust the government because it was “protecting pedophiles” by not releasing the Epstein files or holding more people accountable. In that moment, Khanna told me, he realized that standing up for Epstein’s victims—and against the wealthy or powerful—was a way to build trust.
Tax billionaires. Stop the healthcare collapse.
How it Works
Paid only by Californians worth more than $1 billion—about 200 people who together hold $2 trillion in wealth, most of which will never be taxed in their lifetimes due to loopholes in state and federal tax laws.
Raises about $100 billion to replace lost federal dollars and protect essential services. Directs 90% of funds to healthcare and 10% to public K-14 education and state food assistance programs.
No new taxes on the middle class, small businesses, or homeowners.
What it does for Californians
Keeps hospital ERs, clinics, nursing homes, and home care open and staffed in every community.
Stabilizes premiums and coverage, so families can see a doctor when they need one.
Protects healthcare jobs and the middle-class economy they support.
Funds public K-14 education to keep classrooms staffed, protect programs, and ensure every child gets a quality education.
Funds state food assistance programs to keep millions of Californians from losing access to food and support school nutrition programs.
What we want is simple
Protect our fragile healthcare system from collapse so our families can get the care we need.
Billionaires doing their part to support California and contribute to the social safety nets and public infrastructure that enabled their wealth accumulation.
A state with a strong middle class where everyone can thrive.
American ‘Oligarchy’ Decried by Biden Gained $1.5 Trillion in His Term
(January 16, 2025)
The very richest Americans are among the biggest winners from President Joe Biden’s time in office, despite his farewell address warning of an “oligarchy” and a “tech industrial complex” that threaten US democracy.
The 100 wealthiest Americans got more than $1.5 trillion richer over the last four years, with tech tycoons including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg leading the way, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The top 0.1% gained more than $6 trillion, Federal Reserve estimates through September show.