Tech millionaires in California are trying to raise money from other wealthy Californians to fund public health initiatives with the aim of preventing another pandemic, reported Kaiser Health News April 26.
Former Google executive Max Henderson is spearheading the initiative and is pushing to get it on the statewide ballot. The initiative, the California Pandemic Early Detection and Prevention Act, is close to qualifying for the November ballot, according to organizers.
The act would impose a tax of 0.75 percent on the portion of a taxpayer's income over $5 million. Half of the collected money would be used to fund an institute dedicated to detecting and preventing new disease, a quarter would be used for safety upgrades for schools and the last quarter would rebuild public health infrastructure and workforce. A state analysis of the proposed tax reveals it could generate up to $15 billion over 10 years.
"We're lucky to have cutting-edge technology here to make sure we never see these economic and school shutdowns ever again," Mr. Henderson told KHN. "Our vision is to put the systems in place to prevent the next pandemic. It's not going to happen at the federal level, but California can lead."