more on millionaires

More on millionaires and billionaires. Take the example of a very rich person. This person only pays 15% on income since most is from capital gains. That means they have invested their money in some type of risk taking adventure, like financing a new company or just buying stock in a company. Just what choices does a rich person have when it comes to their money? They can spend it and that of course helps the economy. The can invest it in some type of business and that helps the economy. The can put it in the bank and banks are allowed by law to loan out 9 dollars for every one dollar they have so the banks have more money to loan which means lower interest rates and that is good for the economy. So there is nothing economically wrong with rich people having lots of money, so what is the problem. The problem is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and people feel there is something inherently wrong with that. This feeling is exacerbated when people feel that there is an uneven playing field. They feel that the rich using insider information are gaming the system and there is good reason to feel that way, since there are many recent examples of illegal activities on the part of certain wealthy people. The main objection by groups like the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street is corruption in government and business. To talk about taxing these rich people more is a distraction from the real problem which is corruption. One thing that will have a profound effect on corruption is penalties. We have yet to see anyone go to jail on the recent fiasco of the home mortgage derivatives. Fines are no deterrent but jail time is and not just a couple of years in a country club prison.