> While the L-curve demonstrates how the vast majority of income in your country goes to the few rich individuals, it also shows where most of the taxable income lies. Therefore, I claim that it will not reduce anyone's living standards if you double the tax burden of the filthy rich people and use it to pay for the increased costs. <br> <br>Coincidentally, that big L is all the people who are employing people here or lending capital to those that do employ people here. In this global market, making a move like that would merely encourage a higher degree of outsourcing. There are "loopholes" to getting around income tax (such as moving your company and investments outside of the United States - for instance) that are easily doable for people with enough capital to realize those sorts of gains. Ultimately the end result will merely be a higher unemployment rate. At the end of the day the "filthy rich" as it were will maintain their margins, they'll simply raise prices or lay people off or outsource to recooperate the difference. <br> <br>There's nothing inherently wrong with a vast wealth disparity providing there's a low unemployment rate (keep wages competitive) and reasonable cost of living and managable inflation. In other words, as long as you can survive reasonably well financially, what difference does it make if there are some people who make 5000x what you do?