PROP 40 WILL SAVE JOBS AND KEEP LOCAL EMERGENCY ROOMS OPEN THROUGH ONE-TIME TAX ON BILLIONAIRES
ALAMEDA COUNTY — California’s billionaires pay much lower tax rates than what working families pay out of every paycheck. And now, massive federal funding cuts are beginning to push key parts of the California healthcare system to the brink of collapse, including many hospitals and clinics serving residents in Alameda County.
To stop these dire consequences, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas is calling on billionaires to pay their fair share, and encouraging her constituents to vote yes on Proposition 40 this November.
“Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ slashed funding for healthcare in California to pay for more billionaire tax breaks. Now clinics across California are closing, hospitals are laying off workers, and life-saving services are being cut,” said Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. “Prop 40 will make billionaires finally pay their fair share in taxes and stop sticking the middle class with the bill. I’m proud to support it.”
Several local hospitals in the area are at risk of closing or potential staffing cuts because of federal healthcare cuts. They include:
- Alameda Hospital in Alameda
- Highland Hospital Oakland
- Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro
- San Leandro Hospital in San Leandro
- John George Psychiatric Hospital in San Leandro
As federal healthcare cuts from H.R. 1 begin to rip healthcare away from millions of Californians, Bas is joining a growing list of lawmakers supporting Prop 40, a one-time 5% emergency tax on California’s roughly 200 billionaires as a direct response to the massive cuts. The commonsense measure is designed to ensure that billionaires pay their fair share to stabilize and protect the state’s vast healthcare system, including hospitals, nursing homes, community health centers, and home care services.
“Nikki Fortunato Bas has spent her career fighting for working families. Her endorsement of Proposition 40 reflects what’s at stake in this election: protecting healthcare access, safeguarding local hospitals and clinics, and making sure California has the resources to withstand devastating federal cuts,” said Rexie Dizon, Senior Lead Aide at Alameda Hospital.
Prop 40 qualified for the ballot after supporters submitted more than 1.6 million signatures from Californians across the state — nearly twice the number required to qualify — making it one of the strongest citizen-led ballot qualification efforts in California history. Voters consistently support the Billionaire Tax by large, double-digit margins.
The Billionaire Tax has received hundreds of endorsements from elected officials, labor unions, and community-based organizations ranging from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Ro Khanna, Teamsters California, AFSCME California, SEIU-UHW, Committee of Interns and Residents / SEIU, UNITE HERE Local 11, UNITE HERE Local 30, AFT Local 1521, Disability Voices United, Our Revolution California, Oxfam America, Color of Change, and many, many more.
The more than 400 hospitals statewide have already laid off more than 3,400 healthcare workers as of mid-March, with a second wave of layoffs expected as funding cuts tied to recent federal policy changes are phased in over the next several years. Statewide, projections show the cuts could result in the loss of up to 145,000 healthcare jobs, impacting hospitals, clinics, and home care providers alike. Meanwhile, California was already grappling with a longstanding shortage of healthcare workers, leaving hospitals and clinics stretched thin even before these new threats emerged.
Without revenue from the California Billionaire Tax, federal healthcare cuts are expected to put an estimated 83 California hospitals and clinics at risk of closure. Cuts and closures have already started, impacting communities from Los Angeles to Oakland to Glenn County.
In November, California voters will at last have a chance to make billionaires pay their fair share to help prevent that, through a commonsense ballot initiative that places a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of approximately 200 billionaires who reside in the Golden State. Ninety percent of that funding will go to offset Medi-Cal cuts in order to prevent ER and other service closures, and 10% will go toward funding food assistance and public education.
About Prop 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act
Prop 40 proposes a one-time emergency tax on the wealth of the state’s ultra-high-net-worth billionaires to safeguard Medi-Cal, keep hospitals and emergency rooms open, expand food assistance, and support public education. The initiative is a direct response to federal healthcare cuts under HR1 that threaten healthcare access and economic stability for millions of Californians.
YESon40.com | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | X | Bluesky | TikTok | YouTube
| Paid for by Yes on 40 – Billionaire Tax Now, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West. Committee’s Top Funder Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West |
###