SF's own chief economist is now warning that the so-called Overpaid CEO Tax — which levies additional taxes on companies where executive pay vastly outstrips median worker pay — could eliminate jobs and actually shrink the city's economy. Not "slow growth." Shrink. As in, make smaller a pie that's already been picked over by rats.

The logic behind Prop D sounds righteous in a campaign ad: greedy CEOs make too much, so let's tax them into fairness. But economics doesn't run on vibes. The tax doesn't reduce CEO pay — it just makes San Francisco a more expensive place to headquarter a company. And in case anyone hasn't noticed, we're not exactly drowning in new corporate tenants. Downtown vacancy rates are brutal. The business base is, in the chief economist's own word, "shrinking."

This is the core problem with San Francisco's approach to revenue: the city treats businesses like ATMs rather than partners. Need more money for programs? Tax the companies. Companies leave? Tax the remaining ones harder. It's a death spiral dressed up as social justice.

No one's arguing CEOs deserve sympathy parades. But policy should be judged by its outcomes, not its intentions. If a tax meant to address inequality ends up eliminating jobs for the very workers it claims to protect, who exactly wins?

The chief economist's advice is blunt: wait until things stabilize before piling on new costs. That's not a radical libertarian take — it's basic common sense. But common sense has never polled well at City Hall.

San Francisco can't tax its way to prosperity. At some point, the city needs to ask itself a harder question: why are businesses leaving, and what would make them want to stay? Hint — it's not another line item on their tax bill.