The Golden State prides itself on its egalitarianism and willingness to make some of the rich in California squirm.

This desire to take billionaires down a notch is evidenced by the “wealth tax” currently generating debate among financial pundits and gathering signatures in an aggressive ground game before a November vote, if it makes the ballot. The wealth tax proposal has a strange side effect: it boosts the wealthiest cream of the crop and punishes those below them. After all, there’s pride as well in being one of the special few who can manage to keep their heads above water in a political environment that punishes wealth creation.