XPost: alt.california, alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: someone@outlook.com   
      
   Progressive taxation is not a modern innovation, but an ancient instrument   
   of state power. The, dating back to 1753 BC, imposed heavier fiscal   
   burdens on elites to stabilize political authority and replenish public   
   coffers. Such measures were seldom temporary. Over time, they reshaped the   
   relationship between citizens and the state by redefining which wealth was   
   securely owned and which was held at the government’s discretion. This has   
   repeated across centuries, from early modern Europe to contemporary   
   welfare states.   
      
   In the United States, calls to “tax the rich” have become nearly   
   ubiquitous with election cycles, embedded not only in policy debates but   
   in popular culture itself. When Representative wore a “Tax the Rich” dress   
   to the 2021 Met Gala, the message was less about a specific proposal than   
   about a broader moral posture toward wealth and inequality. Against this   
   backdrop, the California proposal for a “” initially appeared   
   unremarkable, just another iteration of a familiar political slogan. This   
   proposal, however, is not merely a rhetorical flourish or a marginal   
   policy tweak. It represents a fundamental departure from how taxation has   
   historically interacted with private property in the United States.   
      
   Unlike most prior efforts to increase taxes on high-income individuals,   
   which target realized income or realized capital gains, the proposed   
   California wealth tax would reach unrealized gains, paper valuations of   
   assets that have not been sold, priced through an actual transaction, or   
   converted into cash. This distinction is neither technical nor trivial. It   
   cuts to the heart of what it means to own property, possess wealth   
   securely, and plan one’s economic future under the rule of law.   
      
   The response from wealthy individuals has been swift and revealing. Since   
   the proposal’s announcement, at least prominent billionaires (out of   
   California’s roughly) with a combined net worth exceeding $400 billion,   
   have already left or begun the process of leaving California.   
   Historically, policies introduced as exceptional measures aimed at a small   
   elite have rarely remained so confined. The deeper significance of this   
   proposal lies not in its immediate revenue potential but in how it   
   redefines what it means to own property in the United States.   
      
   https://hotair.com/headlines/2026/02/01/californias-proposed-billionaire-   
   tax-and-its-portents-for-normal-people-n3811416   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)