Seriously? SJ Chamber lines up with socialist group in Prop 5 endorsement

Image from Home Alone, 1990.

Blimey. After many years of avoiding political endorsements, the ostensibly pro-business San Jose Chamber of Commerce earlier this month came out in favor of (no typo) the Make It Easier To Raise Taxes Proposition 5. In this, they are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, California chapter (CA DSA), which also supports Prop. 5. The CA DSA's Prop 5 and 33 endorsement argument, below.

As socialists, we say enough: everyone deserves a home, regardless of their ability to feed the rent-seeking economy! Passing Prop 33 is a strong step toward making housing a human right.

California also needs to de-commodify housing and to improve public infrastructure. Prop 5 would lower the voter threshold from a two-thirds supermajority to 55 percent to approve local general obligation bonds for affordable housing and public infrastructure projects. This would make it easier to generate public funds toward housing that is built as a public good, rather than as a commodity investment.

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The California DSA ARCH campaign will work with pro-tenant state-wide housing coalitions and will complement local fights this November to win tenant protections, elect rent board members and support pro-tenant DSA-endorsed candidates. All DSA members engaged in electoral work are encouraged to include Prop 33 and Prop 5 materials in your canvassing and outreach.

Passage of Prop 33 and Prop 5 would reset the table for housing organizing. In both cases, socialists and our allies would start from a stronger foundation to improve the lives and economic conditions of workers, specifically their right to housing, while being disadvantageous to the interests of capital. Although these propositions do not fully achieve the policies we want, they will make it much easier to win those policies.

Working class solidarity and militancy

Realtors and landlord-friendly legislation like Costa-Hawkins are just some of the ways that Real Estate capital shapes the world we live in. The fight does not begin or end with any one piece of legislation. We aim to investigate, educate, and organize in and across our communities, drawing inspiration from and working collaboratively as tenants in struggle. In this work we seek to build a campaign that fosters working-class solidarity and militancy that carries into the next fight, wherever and whenever (and whatever) it is.

Read the whole thing here.

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Related:

• Local political and business leaders coming together in opposition to Prop 5

• Former Palo Alto Mayor: Prop 5 will increase cost of living, tax people out of their homes (3/3)

• Marin CO$T’s Mimi Willard: Prop 5 to unleash a “tax tsunami” for local and regional bonds

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