Well, wouldn't it be best for the system to try and teach people how to save and invest, instead of punishing those who were indeed thrifty, and confiscating their money to hand out as welfare? And it is much more than a "small number."
Depends on what you consider a small number. The article I read examined people with more than $5 million in their 401K, particularly if they had made relatively modest salaries. There were a couple of thousand people in the country like that.
“[W]ouldn’t it be best...to try and teach people how to save and invest, instead of punishing those who were indeed thrifty...”
Yes. Personal Finance should be a required course in high school in every state. No only would the average student be better off personally, but I theorize that the average student would grow up to vote financially conservative . . .as they would reject the government welfare state as an antithesis of good government, personal freedom and responsibility.