In a state where Democrats treat private success like a government revenue stream, that warning is not exactly hard to believe. "It's already cost California billions of dollars in lost tax revenue because of the amount of wealth that's already left the state," Hilton said. The billionaire tax fight is only one piece of a broader economic problem, according to Hilton. When employers leave, jobs, tax revenue and opportunity leave with them. For voters tired of watching California squander its natural advantages, Hilton is betting that common sense still has a constituency.