To: TimF who wrote (323934 ) 2/1/2007 1:48:11 PM From: tejek Read Replies (2) | Respond to Wealth is created by the interactions of people over time, its not static like a pie, and redistributing it tends to make it grow slower (or at least reduce the rate of its growth). Wealth is created by the people you want to redistribute it from. They aren't taking it from others they are creating it. Take a lot of it from them and they have less incentive, and even less ability to continue to create it. A company has a profit that equals a $100 million pie. The three principals decide to give themselves each a slice of the pie equally $33 million each. The pie is gone......the principals ate the pie themselves and did not share it with their workers. That means no pay increase for the workers. Are the principals in your hypothetical owners or executives? The Paris Hiltons aren't job magnets; they are dilettantes. "Even the poorest of the poor, who don't have jobs received government transfers largely funded by the taxes on the income of the rich." and a large section of the middle class is also part of the investing class, so they directly participate in "the eating of the wealth pie", and they indirectly benefit from the increasing productivity over time increasing their total compensation. 2 - If you define wealthy as upper middle class on up, then they pay the majority of the tax income. The top 10%, and perhaps even the top 5% pay the majority of income taxes. You're working your butt off and you can't make ends meet. You don't think you would feel like you are getting screwed? Ridiculous nonsense. And in fact it won't make things better for the country as a whole. Higher taxes on and regulation of the wealthy helps keep the "pie" you want to divide from growing as fast as it otherwise would, and if taken to an extreme will shrink the pie.
