San Francisco pro-billionaires rally draws dozens

A rally in support of California billionaires did not attract a large crowd on Saturday – The San Francisco Chronicle counted About three dozen attendees, along with dozens more counter-protesters.

To be fair, so did organizer Derek Kaufman Expect only a “few dozen” to show up in advance. But the “billionaires walk” has attracted a lot of attention on social media because it is an incongruous idea. According to the local missionjournalists almost outnumbered protesters at the event itself, with demonstrators carrying signs bearing messages such as “We ❤️ You’re Jeffrey Bezos” and “It’s very difficult to write an accurate 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 with more than $1 billion in wealth to pay a one-time 5% tax on their total wealth. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that if the measure actually passes He will veto it.

“I think California is the only state that offers health insurance to people who come into the country illegally,” Kaufman, who founded the AI ​​startup RunRL and is not a billionaire, told reporters. “I think we probably shouldn’t offer that.” (Fourteen states Providing health care to illegal immigrants.)