"Tax the rich" is a familiar battle cry from the left.
And it can be effective -- especially when it includes a little sweetener for those who are not close to being rich.
That's what Chicago was counting on with it's recent referendum to help solve the city's homeless crisis. But things didn't work out quite the way they hoped.
The "Bring Chicago Home" scheme would have raised the city's real estate transfer tax -- a levy of 0.75% on the sale of houses and commercial buildings -- on properties worth more than $1 million.
The tax would go up to 2% for sales between $1 million and $1.5 million and 3% on sales of more than $1.5 million -- a 166% and 300% increase, respectively.
To make the idea more attractive to voters, the plan would lower the transfer tax by 20% on properties worth less than $1 million.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the plan would bring in $00 million a year to help the homeless. But gave no specifics just how the money would be spent or how the homeless would be helped.
But the plan's opponents said the tax would cause rental rates to soar across the board as landlords passed prospective costs. And that the higher tax would have a chilling effect on real estate sales, especially commercial properties. They noted Los Angeles has passed a similar law in 2022, driving the high-end real estate market there down 44% in 2023.
The higher tax did not bring in close to the projected $900 million yearly and is now up for repeal in November.
On Tuesday, with 98% of precincts reporting, the referendum was failing 54% to 46%.
The old "soak the rich" ploy failed. Maybe voters are wising up. Maybe they understand that it's not just a case of having more affluent Americans and corporation pay their arbitrary "fair share." Those on the higher end of the tax scale are already paying -- a lot. How much is enough? And more importantly, how much is too much before it negatively impacts sales, growth, employment? As the saying goes, there is only so much you can shear from a sheep before killing it.
"Tax the rich" is one of President Joe Biden's rallying cries, too. The question is whether voters will fall for it or not in November.