KNOWING THE PROPS - Proposition 40 is among the most significant measures on the ballot this November. For many, the ballot measure’s passage could be a matter of life or death.
That extreme claim stems primarily from the passage of the federal H.R. 1 — the 2025 budget reconciliation law, often referred to as the “One Big Ugly Bill Act,” which Trump signed on July 4, 2025.
Our communities are now witnessing the consequences of these cuts on an already overburdened healthcare system. After losing upwards of $50 million in federal, state, and local funding, Los Angeles County has terminated clinic services at seven facilities. Hundreds of layoffs have been announced by California hospitals, some attributing the cause directly to H.R. 1 and reductions in federal funding. According to California’s health department, around 2 million Medi-Cal members might lose their coverage because of the new federal rules.
Over the next five years, the federal budget reduces California healthcare funding by about $100 billion to finance tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Cuts to Medi-Cal from the federal government alone could result in tens of billions of dollars lost by the state and potentially deprive around 1.3 million Californians of healthcare access by 2029-30.
H.R. 1 will not only cut essential health care services but also drastically reduce funding for food aid programs, severely affecting Californians, while providing massive tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.
Spending reductions will most severely affect low-income families, immigrants, and communities of color, causing increased poverty and exacerbating racial and economic inequalities statewide.
In a city where rents are among the highest in the country and record numbers live below the poverty line or living on the streets, we are encountering economic difficulties beyond belief.
For the tenant population served by the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES), who must already choose between paying rent, feeding their families, buying clothes for their children, or purchasing necessary medication, the impending cuts represent a looming disaster.
There is an Option
Voters do have an option before them to head off this impending outcome.
Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth to secure tens of billions in temporary funding to address the loss of federal aid and other risks affecting health, nutrition, and education services, potentially raising tens of billions in short-term revenue to sustain vital services.
Ninety percent of new funds from Prop 40 would go to healthcare, which is the same sector hit hard by job cuts from federal Medicaid cuts.
Money from Prop 40 will be used for life-saving medical treatment for children and families in California. It will enable millions of Californians to retain their health insurance without facing soaring premiums. It will also aid in avoiding teacher layoffs in our public schools and ensure children receive food assistance.
Billionaire Dollars Funding Campaign Against Prop. 40
Voters are being inundated with deceptive ads attacking Prop. 40. And who is footing the bill for these false ads? Naturally, the billionaires who always want to avoid paying their fair share.
Just like landlords who spent over $100 million deceiving and confusing voters to defeat the rent control ballot measures, these billionaires are using the same tactics but with ten times the funds.
Don’t Be Tricked
Prop 40 offers a dollar-for-dollar safeguard against the $100 billion in federal healthcare cuts that could permanently shut down local hospitals and emergency rooms unless billionaires pay their fair share.
Prop. 40 proposes a one-off tax targeting the worldwide assets of billionaires. California is home to approximately 250 billionaires, whose combined wealth exceeds $2 trillion.
Example of One Billionaire’s Tax Increase Under Prop. 40
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder, has an estimated net worth of about $200 billion. Assuming his wealth subject to Prop. 40 is approximately $200 billion on December 31, 2026, the date net worth is assessed for the measure, he would be liable for around $10 billion in tax. His remaining fortune of about $190 billion would still exceed the total economies of numerous countries, approximately equal to Morocco's Gross Domestic Product.
Billionaires Who Flee Won’t Be Able to Hide
Billionaires residing in California as of January 1, 2026, are subject to the tax, irrespective of the number of offices they open or mansions they acquire in other states.
Thus, the opponent’s argument that billionaires will move out of the state, likely untrue, would not be an option from being taxed.
Billionaire Taxes Work in Other States
Research from Massachusetts and Washington shows that taxing the super-rich generates significant revenue without driving wealth away. Following the introduction of taxes, the count of extremely wealthy residents and their total wealth kept increasing in both states.
Another Billionaire Tactic to Confuse and Mislead Voters
In another bid to confuse voters and block Prop 40, billionaires have placed two more competing measures on the November ballot.
Propositions 41 and 42 aim to challenge the proposed billionaire tax and similar future taxes.
These two measures are merely a billionaire-backed scheme to reverse the billionaire tax.
Should Prop. 40, the billionaire tax, and either Prop 41 or 42 succeed, the measure receiving the highest votes will be enacted into law.
Reject Prop 41 and Prop 42 – Billionaires’ Scheme to Deceive Voters
Proposition 41, known as the Transparency Act, would mandate pre-election audits for ballot initiatives proposing special taxes after proponents have gathered 25 percent of the necessary signatures.
Furthermore, Proposition 41 mandates that any state law or ballot initiative imposing a new special tax after January 1, 2026, must be audited by the state every four years to assess program effectiveness and find cost-saving opportunities.
Proposition 42, known as the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act, aims to amend the California Constitution to ban new taxes on retirement holdings, individually owned assets, and other personal savings after January 1, 2026. This is an effort to deceive voters into believing retirement funds would be taxed. That is absolutely not the case.
Prop. 40 Has Broad-Based Support
A wide-ranging coalition of groups representing millions of Californians supports Prop 40. Among them are the California Democratic Party, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, California Federation of Labor Unions, California Nurses Association, Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), US Senators Bernie Sanders & Chris Murphy, US Congressmembers Judy Chu & Ro Khanna, and numerous others.
Join me in voting Yes on Prop. 40 to defend healthcare and require billionaires to contribute fairly, while voting No on Prop. 41 and Prop. 42.
(Larry Gross is Executive Director of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES), a Los Angeles-based organization advocating for tenants’ rights, affordable housing, and economic justice.)\
