Is Tom Steyer the problem — or the solution?

Why the 2020 presidential candidate thinks we need another billionaire businessman to beat Trump.

Tom Steyer has worked for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He made his billions running a hedge fund for decades before moving into progressive activism on causes like democratization, climate change, and impeaching Donald Trump. Now, he is running for president of the United States.

Steyer’s primary message on the campaign trail is that we need to get money, lobbyists and corporate influence out of politics. At the same time, he is the living embodiment of much of what he thinks is broken about our system. He used his wealth as a shortcut onto the presidential debate stage and, in doing so, essentially wrote the playbook for any future billionaire who decides they want a shot at winning the highest office in the land.

So, is Steyer the solution to our dysfunctional politics — or is he part of the problem? That is the question I put to Steyer in our interview on The Ezra Klein Show. But the question is a lot bigger than Steyer himself. It is about the kinds of people we think will best represent the interests of non-billionaires. It is about the sort of influence we think wealth should have in our society. It is about whether, in our current political moment, we want to trust the arsonists to put out the fires they helped create.

I’ll let you decide the answer.

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