Democrats wealth taxes are Trojan horses: Beware what lies inside

Democrats are proposing wealth taxes in California and other states, hoping to appeal to voters with the gift of other people’s money.But 3,210 years after the people of Troy famously learned not to accept gifts from Greeks, voters might want to look closely at these particular Trojan horses.Take California’s Billionaire Tax.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has reportedly spent $24 million to get the measure on the ballot, hoping that the tax will allow the state to support bloated contracts and pension deals.Far-left economists and politicians pretend that wealth taxes can avoid repeating the failures of past socialist parties.But the California proposal has reportedly cost the state trillions, even before appearing on the ballot, as billionaires have fled the state for friendlier red states, such as Texas and Florida.In my book, “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution,” I discuss the growing threat of “economic factionalism” as politicians fuel rage against the wealthy based on the false premise that they are not “paying their fair share.”I previously warned that such taxes rarely end with billionaires.

That is the case with the federal wealth tax being pushed by figures such as Sen.Elizabeth Warren of Massachuestts, Sen.

Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Rep.Ro Khanna of California. Presumptively unconstitutional, they are starting with billionaires, but once allowed, they will be free to tax the art, real estate, and other property of Americans with smaller estates.Politicians start with the least sympathetic group, but rarely stop there.In California, there is no constitutional barrier to a wealth tax, but advocates are still selling the tax as only targeting billionaires — even imposing a retroactive tax to seek money from those currently fleeing the state.However, the measure includes is a Trojan horse provision that would seemingly allow Democratic politicians to lower threshold from bi...