Millionaires Like Me Should Pay More, Why California’s Billionaire Tax Makes Sense for Workers
An interview with Patriotic Millionaire Scott Ellis
Working people are getting crushed by Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” slashing Medicaid, SNAP, education, and transit to fund tax cuts for billionaires. On The Rick Smith Show, Patriotic Millionaire Scott Ellis, a California tech millionaire, says tax us more. It’s only fair.
Ellis loves America but hates its rigged game. Median household wealth? $190,000. He proposes $30 million as “financial success” enough for two houses, kids’ college, endless vacations, and never working again (150x the median). Beyond that? It’s power, not luxury. A one-time 5% CA tax on income over $1 billion won’t dent lifestyles but could backfill Trump’s budget carnage. No exodus looms, Silicon Valley thrives despite threats.
Ellis dismantles “greed is good” myths. Innovation isn’t billionaires golfing it’s scrappy startups chasing the dream. Cutting their taxes hasn’t trickled down as Reagan’s changes exploded fortunes (Zuckerberg: $240B) while wages stagnate. “Hooray for me” individualism killed the social contract where hard work meant security. Now, half have under $200K and half of us would kill for taxable income.
Politicians peddle “job killer” scares, but Ellis sees through it. California’s billionaire tax isn’t punishment, it’s math for a society where kids don’t go hungry and buses run. Pennsylvania’s push mirrors it to tax unearned income, close loopholes, fund what workers built.
From a working-class view, this flips the script. Trickle-down failed, we cut billionaire taxes, get wage suppression. Tax them, fund schools and health care so our kids climb higher. Ellis isn’t virtue signaling, he crunched numbers showing $30M buys nirvana. More hoarding undermines capitalism, breeds oligarchs like Musk meddling from Texas (rumors say it’s souring).
Workers shouldn’t beg for scraps. Demand real redistribution. Ellis calls for an “honest conversation” that defines success, caps excess, invests in opportunity. PA, follow CA, tax billionaires, rebuild the dream. When millionaires say “tax me,” listen. They know the system’s broken.