Marches in support of California billionaires did not necessarily draw large crowds Saturday. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, about 30 people attended, including about 10 cynical counter-protesters.
To be fair, organizer Derrick Kaufman predicted in advance that only “a few dozen” people would attend. However, the strange idea of a “billionaire march” caused a huge reaction on social media. And at the event itself, journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators, according to Mission Local, who held signs with messages like “We ❤️ You, Jeffrey Bezos” and “It’s very hard to write nuanced arguments on billboards.”
The ostensible reason for the demonstration was to protest the Billionaire Tax Act. This is a state ballot measure that would require Californians with assets of $1 billion or more to pay a one-time 5% tax on their total assets. If the bill actually passes, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he will veto it.
“I think California is the only state that gives health insurance to illegal immigrants, and I think they probably shouldn’t offer it,” Kaufman, who founded the AI startup RunRL but is not a billionaire himself, told reporters. (14 states provide medical services to illegal immigrants.)
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