Wood: “I continue to feel the frustration, desperation, and quite frankly, the anger that many Californians experience in their efforts to access quality and affordable health care. … Something’s got to give, so next Tuesday, I’ll be voting for change.”
Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable: This “middle-class tax increase will drive more families into poverty, force more small businesses to close and compel more employers — and jobs — to leave this state.”
A 2.3% excise tax on businesses after their first $2 million in income. A 1.25% payroll tax on employers with 50-plus workers. An additional 1% payroll tax on wages for resident employees earning more than $49,900. A progressive income tax starting at 0.5% for Californians earning more than $149,500, up to 2.5% for people making about $2.5 million annually. (Those rates would also be adjusted for inflation.)
Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a San Jose Democrat and the proposal’s main author :“Doing nothing is not action. It is, in fact, the cruelest of actions while millions suffer under our watch.”
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Nathan Fletcher, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors :“The challenge … is not only getting the rooms, but getting them staffed.”
Santa Clara County’s public health department :“Our main hurdles are staffing and lab capacity — more personnel are needed to administer additional tests and to process in the laboratories across the country.”
Bonta :“We can’t keep making shortsighted land use decisions that will have impacts decades down the line. We must build responsibly.” Lake County Supervisor Moke Simon :“The investments proposed, including adding housing supply and even a fire station and helipad, offered the potential for lasting regional economic benefits. If the ultimate result of this decision is the project not moving forward, that will be a tremendous loss.”
