The new Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans is out, and guess what? Sixteen of them live in San Francisco. That’s a lot of very rich people. Some new ones on the list this year, too. And that doesn’t count all the very, very rich who didn’t quite make the cut (Warren Hellman, for example, isn’t quite rich enough for this list.)
It’s another reminder: This is a wealthy city, folks. And some of the people who live here, who have done exceptionally well with the Bush tax cuts (and despite the recession) can well afford to pay more local taxes.
So next time a political candidate tells you we can’t raise taxes in a recession, tell them to check out the Forbes 400 and our own 16 billionaires.