> No country has ever taxed it's citizens into greatness.
Why do people repeat this? The greatest era of middle-class growth and success was when the rich paid much more in taxes. Perhaps a better phrase is "No government maintained a middle-class by letting the rich soak up all the gains".
Sure. Fine. It's still so reductive as to be nearly useless. Try living in low tax, libertarian havens. There isn't much social mobility. You're born into wealth or you're not. Money and power flow up the (very short) pyramid forever.
One must tax the rich heavily because otherwise their money will just snowball until there's little left for anyone else. Cute phrases too often reinforce that reality.
Why do people repeat this? The greatest era of middle-class growth and success was when the rich paid much more in taxes. Perhaps a better phrase is "No government maintained a middle-class by letting the rich soak up all the gains".