Michael Hiltzik: Warren 'wealth tax' idea is both legal, necessary

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a newly declared presidential candidate, has turbocharged the progressive attack on income inequality with a proposal for a "wealth tax" aimed at Americans with net worth of more than $50 million.

Warren herself hasn't issued many details of her plan. But according to UC Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who advised her on the proposal, the tax would be 2 percent on net worth above $50 million and another 1 percent on net worth above $1 billion. They say it would affect about 75,000 U.S. households, or less than 0.1 percent of the total, and raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. That's about 0.1 percent of gross domestic product per year.

Warren's announcement, made recently via Twitter, is certain