“We could just trust our eyes and look at the landscape of wealth and the means the wealthy use to keep it.”
The first boy reference in my mind is the annual Forbes list of wealthiest people. I believe it was 30-something percent inherited their wealth.
Everyone should use every legal means to keep their wealth. It is their wealth, not the people’s wealth.
I follow the same path as the rich to build wealth: invest for cash flow, work for assets and not a paycheck, create value for more people and be richer, use the tax code for businesses.
Anyone can do this. Few want to. They want security instead. They are paid the least as a result.
Some super managers and visionairies can attain the Wealthy level but rarely do someone outside that class. Those Forbes covered were generally from the former. The numbers from the 1600 Mega Rich would be different. That number does not include the income of family foundations which preserve the wealth and where there is a huge capital invested.
Today many/most of these are pushing in the wrong direction and undermining the nation. And setting up trusts to increase the pass-through of income. See Ted Kennedy.
At some level, in a democracy, the wide inequality of wealth and income will produce a catastrophe.