Answer:
Plenty of people lose money, grow it only modestly, or indeed give it away. To achieve top 1 percent status you need to exercise sound judgement and stewardship. This involves placing capital where it will grow – with consequent if unintended benefits for society (tax receipts, jobs, innovation – the sort of positive “externalities” the Left often overlooks).
To talk about the “one percenters” getting richer over time is near meaningless: it is not the same set of people under analysis.
In addition, holders of considerable wealth include pension funds, insurance companies, charities and trusts. Their enrichment is welcome.
Inequality of income and wealth is a driver of growth. If the young, or investors, see people making large profits in app design, or green technologies, they will shift their careers or investments to those sectors. Income disparities are part of the price system and they are a form of free speech
Explanation:
The tax code
George Osborne and Gordon Brown are the chief architects of a tax code that is now the longest in the world – in excess of 10m words and 21,000 pages. (Too long by about 20,500 pages, I’d say). The few have the resources to find the loopholes, of which there are many, and exploit them. The many don’t, so end up paying more on a proportional basis. Do we really need 12.5 times the number of words in the Bible to explain how much tax people should pay?
Bank bailouts
If I manage my business imprudently, I go bust. Why should banking get special favour? It’s an example of one rule for some, another for the many.
Quantitative easing
