California is bad for business, state needs 3-way split: Tim Draper
Billionaire Tim Draper is trading his venture capital hat for politics as he pushes for big change in California to help businesses and students.
Come November, voters will be checking “yes” or “no” on a ballot measure, also known as Cal 3, to decide if California should be split into three states: California, Northern California and Southern California.
Draper, who backs the measure, says the state has become a struggle for business owners. “Somehow we have made it untenable for people to run businesses here, and that’s a huge problem,” he said during an appearance on FOX Business’ Kennedy on Monday.
Along with giving the business community a boost, Draper also hopes to help to reform the education system, which has fallen from No. 1 to No. 44.
“I blame teachers unions for a big part of it, but also it’s sort of a special interest thing,” Draper said, “they’ve kind of made it so that all fit one, instead of allowing the schools to be more localized” he said.
Draper has been a long proponent of change and evolution, recently telling FOX Business that the government will eventually become virtual, while also touting the benefits of bitcoin. He also made his money backing companies including Skype and eBay.
Despite Draper’s success, he faces an uphill battle in his home state. Fully 72% of California residents are opposed to the split, according to a recent SurveyUSA Poll, discussed on the program.
Still, the venture capitalist remains hopeful that voters will think about the benefits of a split: better education, better infrastructure and lower taxes, heading into November.
“It gives you an opportunity to be more empowered, to go and be better represented.”