Billionaires’ $15m on campaign TV ads could have helped ease homeless crisis
The $15m spent by Bloomberg and Steyer in California before the Democratic debate contrasted with the state’s crisis of people living on the street
The two billionaire candidates in the Democratic presidential race together spent roughly $15m on television ads in California leading up to Thursday’s debate. If that money were spent on homeless people suffering from the state’s severe and worsening housing crisis, advocates say, it could help thousands in need find a roof over their heads.
Ahead of the sixth Democratic primary debate in Los Angeles on Thursday, the billionaires at the bottom of the polls, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, poured $13.5m and $1.6m respectively into TV ads in the state, according to Advertising Analytics, which monitors political ads. The ad buys renewed criticism of both the vast amounts spent in the presidential race and independently wealthy candidates’ relying on their own fortunes to fund key aspects of their campaigns.