oldfart
Older than dirt
but ours are the most progressive in the world in that we depend on revenue more from the top 1% more than any other country. Stealing investment capital from our most productive people obviously harms the economy!
Much of the history of economic thought since Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" in 1776 has been dedicated to the evils of the rentier class (the top 1% in every age). Generally people like Ricardo, Smith, both Mills, Malthus, and Bentham have portrayed them as bloated, ignorant, unintelligent, backward, boorish, feudal, ill-mannered, stupid, and craven leeches upon society whose elimination as individuals and a class was necessary for any economic advancement of society.
So when did they become transformed into our "most productive people" to be elevated over merchants, industrialists, inventors, entreprenuers, and innovators who bore risk and created capitalism?