Robert Reich argues that California's billionaires — led by Sergey Brin's $102 million against Proposition 40, a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaire wealth — are proving by their own spending that billionaire wealth throttles democracy. He contrasts Governor Gavin Newsom's opposition to the tax and donor-friendly positioning for 2028 with Representative Ro Khanna's support for it, contending that because power, unlike wealth, is zero-sum, taxing billionaires is needed to preserve democracy.