Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg must support a wealth tax or drop out of the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, rival candidate and fellow billionaire Tom Steyer said Monday.
Bloomberg, who is one of the richest individuals in the world, officially announced his campaign on Sunday. He previously dismissed Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., call to tax wealth instead of income last January.
“We need a healthy economy, and we shouldn’t be embarrassed about our system,” he said after a tour of a New Hampshire factory last January, according to The Boston Globe. “If you want to look at a system that’s non-capitalistic, just take a look at what was once, perhaps, the wealthiest country in the world, and today people are starving to death. It’s called Venezuela.”
Steyer, in an opinion piece released by USA Today on Monday, wrote that “People like Michael Bloomberg and I, who've reaped the rewards of our economic system, have a responsibility — an obligation — to address wealth inequality through ensuring equal opportunity and supporting working families. And while we’ve both signed the Giving Pledge, to give half our wealth away in our lifetimes to good causes, it’s important we all acknowledge that a wealth tax is central to any progressive path forward.”
He concludes, “If Michael Bloomberg decides to support a wealth tax, I welcome him to this race. If not, it’s very clear that he should not be the Democratic nominee. Our nominee and our president needs to walk the walk. Our actions have to match our words. This election, the stakes are too high for anything less.”