BT I believe you hit on it. Wealthy people’s money does not lie fallow like Scrooge McDuck’s large vault that Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie occasionally visited and envied back in the old 50s comic books. Most of that money is invested to drive the economy that provides jobs, goods, growth and services. Granted there is consumption but even the wealthy consumption is providing jobs and income for people and businesses. I think the luxury tax a few years back that nearly killed the boating manufacturing industry proved that. Consumption is but a small part of wealth but is the blatant part that is explained as trickle down economy and does not sit well for most of us and people envision that is what wealth is all about.

Would we have our technology today to be interacting here on line if Bill Gates had been bled his incentive through onerous taxation to build Microsoft and his resultant personal wealth in the billions? We have a good idea where his wealth through his foundation will eventually wind up and I suspect it will do more good than what the government would do with that money.

Life’s not fair. Incentive creates winners and there are losers in life. Even in Cuba I bet there is an elite that is living far better than the masses. If Cuba is a role model such as is often cited in healthcare why are people desparately leaving and no one going there?