Tom Steyer Opposed Single-Payer Health Care. Now He’s Running On It.

About this episode

David Sirota interviews Tom Steyer about his shift to supporting single-payer health care and the current political landscape in California.

Last week, California Democrats killed CalCare, a proposed single-payer health care bill. Will the state ever achieve its dream of universal health care? Tom Steyer — a gubernatorial candidate who ran ads against single-payer health care in 2020 — says he is now the Golden State’s best bet. He also wants higher taxes for the rich, stronger environmental protections, and the abolition of ICE. The catch? He’s a billionaire running a self-financed campaign. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned philanthropist, to discuss the collapse of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) campaign, whether billionaires are a policy failure, and the chaotic governor’s race that has left Republicans leading in the polls. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: David Sirota

Guest: Tom Steyer

Topics covered

• single-payer health care
• California politics
• Tom Steyer
• universal health care
• billionaire influence
• governor's race
• environmental protections

Keywords

• single-payer
• health care
• Tom Steyer
• California
• billionaires
• governor's race
• Eric Swalwell
• universal health care
• environmental protections

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CalCare, ICE

Places: California, Golden State

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