During a portion of an interview with CNN aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Story Is,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) dismissed wealthy people moving out of California due to taxes and suggested people might not actually leave if there is a billionaire tax, but “What they are saying to the people of California is, it doesn’t matter to us, we’re billionaires, and we’re getting richer and richer, and if children die because they can’t get to a doctor, tough luck. We have the power, California, and we are going to punish you.”
Host Elex Michaelson said, “[W]e’ve already seen Larry Page, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Larry Ellison start to move out of this state.”
Sanders responded by sarcastically remarking, “Oh, isn’t that something? Oh.”
Sanders added, “What they are saying to the people of California is, it doesn’t matter to us, we’re billionaires, and we’re getting richer and richer, and if children die because they can’t get to a doctor, tough luck. We have the power, California, and we are going to punish you. Now, they lie a lot, these guys. When Mamdani was running for mayor in New York City, you may recall, everybody, all the rich guys were going to leave. It didn’t happen. Now, whether they do or not, I don’t know, who knows. But the idea that they are saying that it’s okay for children to die, people not get the healthcare they need, and they’re going to punish the people of California, that is outrageous. And by the way, that is why I will be introducing a national wealth tax. Where are they going to run then? Maybe they’ll run to Saudi Arabia, I suspect that’s where they’ll go. But you’ve got to — at some point, you’ve got to stand up to these guys.”
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