“Do you know what the most significant addiction crisis in America is today? It is the greed of the billionaire class,” declared Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in a speech at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre. “For these people, enough is never enough. They are dedicated to accumulating more and more wealth and power, and they do that no matter what harm they bring to working families, to our children and to our parents.”

In other words, Sanders deeply believes successful entrepreneurs are on net harmful and must have their wealth seized so lifelong politicians like him can redistribute the proceeds in pursuit of social justice.

Details be damned, of course.

Sanders threw his support behind the wealth tax pushed by the SEIU-UHW. Californians know them best for repeatedly abusing the initiative process to force expensive campaigns over regulating dialysis clinics. Those campaigns were entirely aimed at punishing dialysis clinic operators for not letting the union control them.

Naturally, the union’s wealth tax proposal is being put forward with no regard for the consequences. Many wealthy Californians have already left the state and shifted assets in response to the tax. This poses a particular problem for California state government, which is highly reliant on taxing high-income earners for general fund revenue.

As economist Wayne Winegarden of the Pacific Research Institute has explained, “Put differently, the state is risking the loss of a larger long-term revenue source for a smaller temporary revenue boost. A clearly bad trade-off. Worsening this trade-off, just the chance that this wealth tax will be implemented could incentivize some billionaires to leave the state ‘just in case.’ Not only will state tax revenues suffer as a result, but California’s economic vibrancy will take another hit.”

While democratic socialists and lifelong politicians like Sanders seem to think innovation and prosperity are an incidental byproduct of capitalism and free enterprise, those who study history and have a moment of contemplation know these are inextricably linked.

Confiscatory policies and leadership guided by animus toward the economically successful are a recipe for mediocrity and stagnation. Alas, that is the democratic socialist vision: everyone being worse off in the name of twisted views of justice.

California was built by innovators and dreamers, not career politicians. Californians must not sacrifice the Golden State’s economic vibrancy to appease an East Coast socialist and an exceptionally annoying union.