An Economy for us, not billionaires

Young Californians are clear: the economy is not working for us and our families.

Together, we’re advancing a focused Economic Agenda centered on 4 basic needs: housing, jobs, healthcare, and making the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share.
We All Gotta Eat Illustration
Immigrants Power California poster graphic

We all want the same basics: to afford our lives, take care of our people, and have a real shot at the future.

This means a home we can afford, a good doctor when we need one, and pay that actually covers the bills. It means being able to raise or start a family without constantly falling behind. It means safe communities where we look out for each other and push through when times get hard.

We’re barely getting by, and it’s not getting better. Meanwhile, billionaires hoard profit and make the rest of us pay.

Young people are working hard, but this economy is holding us back. Costs keep rising – rent, groceries, healthcare – while our paychecks stay the same and one job is barely enough.

Meanwhile, corporations and billionaires squeeze more work out of people for less pay and pull in record profits. They pour money into politics to influence politicians, dodge taxes, and block changes that would make the system work for the rest of us.
They Blame Immigrants poster graphic
Housing the Homies graphic

We can fix this -– by fighting for an economy that meets our basic needs and makes the 1% pay their fair share.

No matter the party, California’s leaders should serve the young people and working families who are hustling hard every day and making sacrifices to build stable lives and futures.

When we support leaders who stand up to greedy corporations and billionaires, together, we can win the basics our families need:

Housing the Homies graphic
House the homies. Stop the slumlords. Crack down on corporate sharks who evict our families and flip our neighborhoods for profit. Turn empty buildings into long-term homes for working people and families.

Data

Young Californians are being priced out of the communities where we live, work, and grew up. We support solutions that: expand affordable housing, convert vacant and underused properties into homes, strengthen renter protections, prevent unjust evictions, crack down on predatory corporate landlords, and limit excessive rent hikes and fees.

  • Housing affordability ranked as the #2 issue for Californians 18-30 in 2025, after cost of living.

  • 1 in 3 young Californians want elected officials to address housing affordability and homelessness. In the Bay Area, 41% of young people want to see their elected officials take action to address housing.

Careers that honor the work we put in. Checks that actually match the price tags of life. Jobs that open doors to our dreams in this fast new economy. Success for the creators and small businesses who keep our culture alive and our communities vibrant.
Immigrants Power California poster graphic

Data

Young Californians work multiple jobs, run small businesses, help cover family bills, yet still struggle to get ahead. We want stable careers that build savings and opportunity – not poverty wages that keep us stuck. We support solutions that: raise wages to match the cost of living, protect workers from unfair practices, expand access to strong career pathways, and invest in local employers and small businesses.
80% of young Californians 18-30 say the cost of living is outpacing their wages.
  • 1 in 3 have taken on a second job;
  • 1 in 4 are supporting friends and family;
  • and 1 in 5 are postponing bills or relying on credit cards to get by

Over half (57%) of young Californians believe that small businesses have a very positive effect on the state.

Healthcare for every person. Childcare for every family. Mental health services so young people can persist despite the challenges they face. Air that’s clean and safe to breathe.

Data

Young Californians need coverage that is affordable and usable. We back solutions that: protect and expand Medi-Cal and Covered CA, reduce care and medicine costs, expand access to mental health services, and improve environmental health and air quality, especially in the Central Valley.
1 in 5 young women of color in California report postponing medical care to pay for rent or utilities.

“For 2 in every 3 residents in Tulare County, the cuts to Medi-Cal mean choosing between life and death. We’re already anxious about our futures, stuck in a worsening economy and are living paycheck to paycheck to afford rent, gas and food.” – PowerCA Action member from Pixley, CA

No more billionaire hoarders and CEO freeloaders buying elections, stealing our healthcare, raising prices on groceries and healthcare, dodging taxes, playing sugar daddy for politicians, and exploiting the labor of every immigrant and worker they need but refuse to respect. Make the richest of the rich pay their fair share, now.
When Workers Unite poster graphic

Data

Young Californians are crystal clear that mega-corporations and billionaires hoard profit while everyday people struggle. We back efforts that: ensure the richest of the rich pay their fair share in taxes, close loopholes that benefit the ultra-wealthy, increase transparency + accountability in political spending and corporate influence, and reinvest resources into meeting our basic needs.
  • Nearly 90% of AAPI and Black young Californians believe billionaires and corporations are profiting off the hardship of everyday Californians.
  • 1 in 4 young Californians blames greedy corporations for the cost of living crisis.
Data Source: All polling data cited comes from Power California’s 2025 statewide poll of Californians ages 18-30 in partnership with Latino Decisions. Learn more at powercalifornia.org/2025youthpoll.

Despite the challenges we face, young Californians are using our choices and voices to push back on billionaires controlling the economy.

We exercise our power in everyday decisions – choosing not to support the corporations and billionaires that exploit workers, raise prices, and rig the system. Instead, we shift our time, money, and trust into local businesses, leaders, and community efforts that treat people right.

We use our voices – talking with friends, family, and coworkers about what’s really going on. We share information, call out unfair practices, and help each other make choices that add up, whether that’s where we shop, how we vote, what we post, or what we tolerate at work.
When Workers Unite poster graphic

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An economy for us, not billionaires.

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