Election is just two days away and Q'ed Up is zooming in on important local measures across the Bay Area.
Q'ed Up host Ryan Levi talked with KQED reporters Guy Marzorati, Farida Jhabvala Romero and Sonja Hutson to get the lowdown on a range of local ballot measures ranging from taxes on businesses and vacant properties, as well as, an affordable housing bond in Santa Rosa.
First up is Proposition C in San Francisco, which would tax the city's biggest businesses to help pay for homeless services. The debate around the measure has even led to a Twitter beef between Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Twitter's Jack Dorsey. Proposition C would bring in an estimated $300 million annually from tech companies, banks and retail stores to pay for supportive housing, shelters, navigation centers and mental health services for the homeless. The idea, supporters say, is that big companies that have done well in San Francisco should do more to help solve its biggest problem — homelessness.
Proponents say corporations have benefitted this year from a federal tax cut and it's only fair to redirect some of that cashflow toward local problems. While some companies such as Twitter, Lyft and Macy's have come out against the tax, Salesforce's Benioff has been a huge proponent of the measure, pouring millions into the campaign supporting Proposition C.
Arguments against the measure run the gamut — that it would make doing business in the city more expensive and force companies to relocate, leading to a loss in jobs and that the city should first look at how it spends its money on homeless services first before imposing a tax.