~ Prologue
Aesculapius (As-klee-pee-uhs) – known in ancient Greece as the god of medicine, was the son of Apollo, the god of healing. He was so successful at healing, even raising the dead, that his grandfather Zeus had to kill him with a thunderbolt because fewer people were passing on to the underworld.
The “Staff of Aesculapius” – the symbol of modern medicine. It features a single snake wrapped around a staff, or branch, representing flourishing life and continued good health.* In ancient times, the snake was seen as a symbol of health and healing; to the extent that sufferers of depression would be cast into a room full of snakes to shock them back to reality. It’s easy to imagine how invigorating the experience would be. Today, it’s an awakening experience California voters desperately need.
Conscription – is the mandatory enrollment of citizens. If the ballot measure purported to tax only billionaires passes in the November election, that’s what effectively will happen to all Californians. Each resident with taxable assets will be conscripted to join the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) as full dues paying members. And then some.
The California Billionaire Tax Act (2026) qualified for the ballot after a signature drive and promotion campaign undertaken and sponsored by the SEIU-UHW. The stated purpose of the one-time 5% levy on California residents with assets exceeding $1 billion is to supplement the ailing health care industry with expanded new services. What will also be funded with ten percent of the take are new administrative careers for the loot watchers, or as they put it, “administrative expenses.”1
The SEIU-UHW union has spent over $23.7 million in support of the Act, so you know they expect quite a return on their investment. The Act is expected to raise as much as $100 billion over five years. To get their hands on that cash, the union campaign stoked envy of success and used character assassination to make unfairly penalizing a minority palatable to voters.
But envy poisons reason, and there is a poison pill hidden in the measure for all to taste should it pass.
The California Billionaire Tax Act (2026) was written with a legislative authority clause so that it can be amended to apply to all California residents by a simple 2/3 majority in the legislature. This clause is insidious in that no further voter authorization is required to make such future changes.2
This means the tax can not only be made recurring, or continued indefinitely, but the wealth threshold can be lowered to include a tax levy on the middle class, and even on low-income earners. All of them could be classified as an “Applicable individual” by the Act, which “means… any individual who is a resident of this State.”3
What would be taxed? The tax applies to net worth. While net worth usually translates to stocks and securities, it also includes art, collectibles, and even intellectual property. For example, that classic car you’ve spent years restoring? Taxed. Dreamed up any good ideas lately? Taxed. The state would be granted elastic powers by the Act to determine what personal property and wealth could be taxed.
That’s how easily the vast majority of Californians could wake up one day to find they’ve been made de facto dues-paying SEIU-UHW union members. In addition to more medical supplies and facilities, their taxes will also go to fund hiring more healthcare workers, who in turn will then be paying more union dues. A better prescription for large-scale money laundering could hardly be written by Aesculapius.
Notes:
*The staff with two snakes entwined and with wings is the Caduceus. It was historically used to represent commerce and trade. The symbol is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry and in medical supplies. It is often mistakenly used in America, and elsewhere, as the medical symbol and confused with the Staff (or Rod) of Aesculapius. The appeal of the Caduceus lies in its symmetry, and its confusion with Aesculapius lies, in part, withits misappropriate incorporation for use in the early 1900s by the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and then the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. (The U.S Air Force Medical Service uses the Staff of Aesculapius). INTERESTINGLY – There is 
compelling evidence for the origin of these symbols in Greek mythology stemming from the earlier Israelite history. Connections have been drawn to the brass Fiery Serpent on a pole erected by Moses in the wilderness march by the instruction of God to heal the people from the bites of the serpents God sent to chastise them for their complaining (Num 21:5-8); and also the parallels between Samson and Hercules, and how the Greeks probably acquired those details through the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Dan, from which Greeks could have been acquainted with these Biblical stories, was also known as merchants, the Hebrew name for which is Haroclim, which is remarkably similar to the Greek name “Hercules.”
- Initiative No. 25-0024: First Amendment, The “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” Sec. 37. (d)
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/25-0024A1%20%28Billionaire%20Tax%20%29.pdf
- Legislative Authority (50310). The Legislature may amend the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, by statute passed in each house of the Legislature by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring, if the statute is consistent with and furthers the purposes of the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act.
- “Applicable individual” (50308 (a)). means, for the 2026 tax year, any individual who is a
resident of this State, within the meaning of Sections 17014 and 17015 .5, as of the tax obligation date specified in subdivision (n).
Further Reading:
The Billionaire Tax debate needs a reality check
https://nypost.com/2026/04/27/opinion/the-billionaire-tax-sounds-good-until-you-look-closer/
Mass exodus fears as California billionaire tax gets enough signatures to go on ballot, backers claim
