Massachusetts Teachers Demand New Wealth Tax

I have long opposed wealth taxes based on both constitutional and practical grounds. When Elizabeth Warren pushed her own wealth tax, I noted that the high starting income or wealth levels would likely be lowered with time if Congress were ever allowed to cross this constitutional Rubicon. The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) is now demanding an amendment to the state constitution to tax the “wealth of the richest 1%” to pay for free public college. Previously, the state passed a constitutional amendment to place a 4 % tax on income above $1 million. This would add a new wealth tax to that earlier “Fair Share Amendment.”

In a press release, the teachers union president Max Page declared: “if we are serious about social and economic justice and nurturing a culturally rich and welcoming state of involved citizens, we will provide all residents with the best vehicle for a prosperous future – public education.”

New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has made a similar proposal that, in addition to taxing corporations, he will “tax the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers—those earning above $1 million annually—a flat 2% tax.” Not surprisingly, Warren recently declared Mamdani the future of the Democratic Party.

Massachusetts is already in the top ten highest tax jurisdictions. These tax increases are why many of us have opposed the state and local (SALT) tax deduction. As high-tax states continue to increase their rates, they expect residents in low tax states to subsidize them.

My forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution, discusses the wealth tax controversy and how these moves are likely to increase in the coming years.