Is it time for a wealth tax to help us get the idle resources of the rich back into the economy to stimulate consumer demand and job growth?

There is a very interesting explanation of wealth taxes on WikiPedia.

Of course there are negative aspects as well as positive ones on the idea of a wealth tax.  We do need to be careful about putting too big a burden on the accumulation of wealth.  After all there are some positive aspects for the economy as a whole in promoting some accumulation of wealth. Perhaps wealth under $100 Million ought to be exempt.

As an example of such a tax, before 2007, Florida had an intangibles tax. The Florida Intangible Personal Property tax. was a tax on many types of intangible personal property (such as mutual funds, stocks, and accounts receivable). I must admit that as a retiree with assets that sit in tax deferred accounts and whose tax on income is deferred, such a tax kept me from considering becoming a resident of Florida.  Of course they didn’t have a $100 million exemption, either.  That surely would have covered me and then some.