Media Must Cover Prop. 40 as Billionaires Buying a Result

California billionaires put up more than $330 million to defeat Prop. 40, a proposed 5 percent tax on assets over $1 billion and the nation’s first wealth tax of its kind. AP has called its defeat. They also sponsored Prop. 42, which was leading by 3.2 points as of Monday night and would amend the state constitution to bar future taxes on many kinds of personal wealth.

Coverage will likely treat this as voters weighing tax policy. It was an expensive persuasion campaign. Prop. 42’s backers suggested retirement savings were at risk, though every wealth tax lawmakers have proposed targeted only assets above $30 million. Prominent Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, echoed the opposition’s arguments. As Rep. Ro Khanna put it, “The reason they don’t want to pay the tax is they don’t want to pay the tax.”

We call on the media to cover this as billionaires spending a fortune to protect their fortunes, and to ask who paid for each ad and who benefits. Prop. 42 deserves the same scrutiny, since it could limit the state’s power to tax extreme wealth for years. The public deserves reporting that follows the money, not just the results.