U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a plan. She wants to levy a 2 percent annual tax on savings over $50 million, and an additional 1 percent a year on savings of over a billion dollars.

Fleecing the rich is not a new concept for today’s Democrats but it’s back in style big time — especially since progressive darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently called for a 70 percent income tax on high earners.

To her credit, though, Warren has been using class warfare to her advantage for years and even stirred some controversy last summer when a CNBC reporter pushed her on what rates she would like to see taxes raised back up to. Sen Warren pointed out that the top marginal tax rate has been as high as 90 percent.

Whether it’s a 90 percent top marginal tax rate or a 2 percent tax on savings over $50 million, such maneuvers will not grow the economy or make the poorest Americans flush with cash. It is simply a cynical strategy to sow and reap class envy for political means.

We need look no further than the 1950s when the top tax rate reached 91 percent. At that time the tax code was an 11,000 page document and all but a few of those pages were filled with loopholes and deductions used by high-earners to avoid paying their taxes.

Every time the tax rates drastically rise, wealthy Americans hide their money from their government legally, resulting in diminished revenues.

Additionally, money that is parked in government-sanctioned shelters is not out there in the marketplace spurring growth and innovation. Wealthy Americans unencumbered by the tax code invest their money in the creation of new products and services. In other words, they spend it, and that benefits everyone.

Though the tax rate affects income and Warren’s “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” targets wealth, there is no doubt that the wily 1-percenters will shuffle their money around to where it is safe.

It is also worth noting that there are serious assertions that such a tax is legal. The Constitution bans direct taxes at the federal level, except for income taxes, which the 16th amendment made legal a century ago.

But in 2019, the spirit of the proposal is what matters and the simple satisfaction of taking that rich jerk’s money and giving it to this noble poor person is what Warren is banking on to attract voters.

“The rich & powerful run Washington,” Warren tweeted as she announced the “Ultra-Millionaire Tax.” “Here’s one benefit they wrote for themselves: After making a killing from the economy they’ve rigged, they don’t pay taxes on that accumulated wealth. It’s a system that’s rigged for the top if I ever saw one.”

Grab a pitchfork and get ’em!

It is true that these days many Americans find themselves on the “ragged edge of the middle class,” to coin a phrase. But that is largely a result of the exploding costs of housing, education, health care and child care.

It’s no coincidence that all these industries are heavily subsidized or regulated by the federal government, and an examination of that relationship would be a much better first step toward prosperity than new taxes. It may not provide the instant gratification that Sen. Warren’s wealth redistribution schemes do, but it will usher in the return of the middle class.