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Can wealth redistribution take place in the US? The least disruptive approach would be changing the tax code to be more progressive. This could be modifications to the income tax, the restructuring (not elimination) of the estate tax, and imposition of either wealth taxes or consumption taxes. The wealthy can be expected to object to all of these changes. In addition they have the political and economic clout to promote their self interests. A concerted effort by the people can succeed. Recent examples in countries like the Phillipines and Poland show the power the people can have when they join peacefully for a change in the organization of society.

Only the rich can create economic growth In the US this is contradicted by the history of our country. All the great industries of the 19th and 20th Centuries were created by individuals with no prior wealth. Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, etc. started with essentially nothing and built huge enterprises. On the other hand the children of these entrepreneurs have not been especially noted for doing anything notable. Andrew Carnegie felt so strongly that each generation should make its own way that he left the bulk of his estate to charity. His children had to make their own way. The secret of a successful entrepreneur is his ability to raise capital to expand his enterprise. This is obtained from banks and selling stock and not generally from personal wealth. One doesn't need rich people to build a business. The capital of a bank can be $1000 from one hundred people or $100,000 from one person. The amount available to lend is the same. Wealth does not have to be concentrated to be available for investment. In the developed world much of the available capital comes from pension funds and is thus not provided by the wealthy.

The only areas which continue the patronage model and are still the domain of the wealthy are opera, classical music and big fine art museum

The fairness argument: As all people come into the world equally helpless they should ultimately reach at least approximate equality of condition when they mature. People have an innate sense of what is fair as many psychological experiments have demonstrated. The intrinsic sense of fairness requires basic economic equality.

The first is a Public Service Announcement campaign to pump the message out to the masses. Here’s the first 30-second spot to come out of the new 99% Get Money Out campaign:

The second effort is a campaign that I am currently focusing my time on, and is without a doubt the most ambitious project I have ever been part of. The #MoneyOutPack is a collaborative community and social network dedicated to, you guessed it, getting money out of politics and combating government corruption. The campaign and website are still in development, but it is a highly participatory citizen empowered movement driven by a decentralized and distributed network of power, effectively maximizing and riding the wave of communication technology that the internet has created for new movements of change to thrive.