{"id":14899,"date":"2026-02-09T14:32:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T06:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14899"},"modified":"2026-02-09T14:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T06:32:38","slug":"rally-in-san-francisco-surrounding-states-proposed-billionaire-tax-comes-with-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14899","title":{"rendered":"Rally in San Francisco surrounding state&#8217;s proposed billionaire tax comes with controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In San Francisco on Saturday, a small group gathered for a city hall march to offer their support for billionaires. It drew a crowd of media and opponents and quickly became a spectacle that focused more on satire than substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue of income disparity is a serious one. But Saturday&#8217;s advertised March For Billionaires took a serious turn to the absurd. &nbsp;Organizer Derik Kauffman seemed to know it would happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;So, I sort of guessed that it would be provocative,&#8221; he said. &nbsp;&#8220;I also think if it were not called what it was, then it would not have gotten the attention that it did.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gathering at Alta Plaza Park in the Fillmore District only drew a handful of supporters. But they seemed sincere in their opposition to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/california-billionaire-tax-ballot-initiative-how-it-works\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">California&#8217;s proposed asset tax on billionaires<\/a>, which they said will drive wealth and innovation out of the state. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You know, I know a lot of people disagree with the framing of this,&#8221; said Kauffman, &#8220;but I do really believe that most billionaires have had a greatly positive influence on the economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A woman from Berkeley, who gave her name as Annie, said she came up with the original idea of a support march for billionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I am a Christian. I swear on my God that I am being completely genuine here,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We are being serious. We like billionaires. We want them to stay.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the unusual notion of a march to support the wealthiest people in the world also drew a lot of media, and some snarky opposition. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A couple wearing formal clothing carried signs saying, &#8220;IT&#8217;S A CLASS WAR, AND WE&#8217;RE WINNING&#8221; and &#8220;KEEP CALIFORNIA UNEQUAL.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One man wearing a business suit and a crown poured on the sarcasm as he discussed the plight of the downtrodden billionaires. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know when you look at somebody what their story is, what their inner struggle is,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So, you can&#8217;t tell if somebody&#8217;s carrying the weight of billions of dollars. It really is a heavy burden.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Razelle Swimmer said she spent all day Friday creating a giant puppet of a chef wielding a butcher knife with the slogan, &#8220;EAT THE RICH.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to match their absurdity with my absurdity,&#8221; said Swimmer. &nbsp;&#8220;And point out how ridiculous they look, by having a 10-foot puppet to chase them around.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that, the march began, heading for city hall. &nbsp;Along the way, it drew plenty of stares and a bit of outrage from small business owner John Quillinan, who said he supports the idea of a 5% tax on billionaires&#8217; wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The fact that that is not acceptable to them makes me sick to my stomach,&#8221; he said. &nbsp;&#8220;I would give up five percent of my net worth over five years to help my community. I own a small business. I&#8217;m not doing amazingly, and I would still do it to help people. What&#8217;s wrong with you that you won&#8217;t?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Michele and Jesse Foster just seemed confused when the procession passed them on the street corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;At first we were horrified, and then, &#8216;I&#8217;m not sure if they&#8217;re joking.&#8217; They have to be joking. It&#8217;s a joke, for sure. Has to be,&#8221; &nbsp;they said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michele said she didn&#8217;t think it was real, but it was hard to tell. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a little scary these days. You can&#8217;t trust anything, right? I was on the phone with my daughter and I&#8217;m like, &#8216;I gotta hang up. I gotta go yell at these people,'&#8221; Michele said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the group of supporters and detractors reached city hall, they were still arguing. But it was still hard to know what to take seriously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In San Francisco on Saturday, a small group gathered for a city hall march to offer their support for billionaires. It drew a crowd of media and opponents and quickly became a spectacle that focused more on satire than substance. The issue of income disparity is a serious one. But Saturday&#8217;s advertised March For Billionaires [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1827,1826,3957],"class_list":["post-14899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-usa","tag-francisco","tag-san","tag-saturday"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rally in San Francisco surrounding state&#039;s proposed billionaire tax comes with controversy - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=14899\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rally in San Francisco surrounding state&#039;s proposed billionaire tax comes with controversy - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In San Francisco on Saturday, a small group gathered for a city hall march to offer their support for billionaires. 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