I still have a few days left in my WSJ subscription, so I offer this piece as an interesting frame around what seems to me to be smart political action:
California union boss Dave Regan has a history of using ballot measures to shake down healthcare providers. Now he’s pointing his pistol at Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wealthy Democratic donors.
Mr. Regan’s Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West last week submitted to the state attorney general a ballot initiative for the November 2026 election that would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on California residents with more than $1 billion in net worth. Its chief purpose, the initiative says, is to “address the anticipated annual $30 billion state budget shortfall for health care.”
SEIU has used the threat of ballot measures in the past — the Journal frames it as “blackmail” — to get what they want from different players in the California healthcare world. For example, hospitals backed a $25/hour minimum wage for healthcare workers in exchange for SEIU dropping an initiative to limit pay of hospital executives.
Isn’t this the kind of thing unions are supposed to do? I guess it’s “blackmail” instead of political pressure if unions do it.
I have to believe that the wealth tax would be a slam dunk. I’d love to see it on the ballot. And it’s notable that Newsom says that wealth taxes are a non-starter. We’ll see.
