Nicely written. The reality is that ego plays a much, much bigger role in all of this than does greed or other factors. Most politicians are motivated by elevation in perceived stature and importance that comes along with public office. There are other ways to make money, and many less visible ways to do public service, but none of these assuage the ego quite like public office.
The more they do in office, the more control they exert over the lives of others, the more important they become and the more they feed their ego.
Envy is closely related to ego, and envy drives many in society who support big government and socialism. Many of these people like the idea of limited upward mobility. It ensures ‘equality’ and prevents others from being more successful than them. Politicians, entertainers, and sports figures are kind of a ‘lottery’ to them, and they don't resent their success so much. Most of their neighbors aren't going to become politicians, entertainers, or sports figures, so they don't resent those paths to success. They don't like the idea that by working two jobs, saving money, and investing, their neighbor can move beyond them socioeconomically.
Any society that ceases to reward people commensurate with their efforts, and that doesn't allow people to differentiate themselves will ultimately stagnate.
“The war on upward mobility” — very well said.
Certainly, that’s will be the effect of these policies. If you can suck welfare and medical care, get a free cellphone, housing debt cancellation, and so forth, why would you work and face a marginal tax that might be between 50 and 100%? And if you don’t, other than going into the political bureacracy, how else can you advance (other than off the books crime)?
As someone else said on FR a while back, “Under capitalism, the rich become powerful. Under socialism, the powerful become rich.”