California is the punching bag of conservative politics. But as much as Republicans might enjoy watching the progressive experiment collapse, those consequences have a funny way of spilling across state lines.
On November 3, California voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 40, a one-time, five percent wealth tax on the state’s wealthiest residents. The measure is championed by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which claims it would raise $100 billion for the state. Whether that projection holds up is one question, but the larger one is whether California is about to cross a line that conservatives, billionaires, and even Democrats with some remaining economic sense cannot simply escape by moving elsewhere.
Americans have long resisted a tax on wealth. If Californians cross this Prop. 40 Rubicon, get ready for a new era of wealth confiscation in America. https://t.co/szvdZW140v
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 19, 2026
The Wall Street Journal editorial board in a recent piece described the proposed tax as the next progressive “Rubicon.”
Americans are accustomed to taxes on income, capital gains, and property, but this proposal reaches further than any of them: It targets net worth itself, sweeping in “artwork, trusts, yachts, business interests and even a dependent’s assets.” The reach would even extend beyond California’s borders to say property a billionaire owns in another state that could count towards what California seeks to tax.
This is a progressive Rubicon. If California voters approve it, the Wall Street Journal argues, expect to see the idea on the Democratic national platform in 2028. Not necessarily because it works, or because it is sound policy, but because Americans are worried about affordability, and what easier way to look like you are addressing it than promising to collect hundreds of billions of dollars from people who have more money than everyone else? Economic grievance is a powerful force in American politics right now. If you think California’s wealth tax has no audience beyond California, you may be in for a treat come 2028.
Recommended
Nor is its defeat a given either. Although earlier polling suggested that even California voters were reluctant to embrace the tax, a POLITICO poll released Monday found 46 percent of likely voters supporting it and 43 percent opposed. The measure still needs a majority to pass, but support outpacing opposition is a troubling sign. And the Wall Street Journal argued that while the tax is legally dubious, it is unlikely that the state's High Court is likely to strike it down, and foolish to rely on the Supreme Court to save the state from itself despite.
For decades, Silicon Valley and Hollywood have held California up despite Sacramento’s policy choices. Now the state wants still more, and once the machinery for taxing net worth exists, the obvious concern is how long it remains confined to California.
The world’s fourth-largest economy may yet buckle under its own progressive weight. But its parting gift could be a policy that drags the rest of the U.S. economy down with it.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy Townhall's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.