"Conservatism is so influenced by business culture and by business modes of thinking that it lacks any political imagination, which has always been, I have to say, a property of the left." Irving Kristol
The liberals propose an alternative. Only the really stupid and ill equipped are competent to run businesses or the government. The intelligent, the canny and inventive are going to be rich. They just are, they will have better ideas, develop better products, make better decisions and have better judgment than someone who can't even lift themselves out of poverty. To liberals the more poor someone is, the better they are at judging for us all.
You see folks the replies hardly start when an apologist for greed appears. Of course I know lots of intelligent people who aren't rich, same goes for canny and inventive. Katz, they always do better? Are you sure as history tells another story, and so called experts have a proven record on the same level as random dart throwing. I have linked that fact before.
And then there are the usual wingnuts who know everything there is to know by some magical power for if you link a source or a book, they boohoo you. Is it any wonder they can be classified as stupid. That's mom on my shoulder saying be nice.
But rich people I know and many aren't so bad, but folks they ain't much different from the poor sucker who just lost his job only when you are rich those things matter less. And if you were lucky enough to have rich parents you're set.
Two of my favorite links below. For those whose knowledge comes into their head from that magic place, no need to read as you have your instructions already.
"Many conservatives and libertarians defend the current levels of income inequality on the basis of merit. They claim the rich got rich because they worked harder, longer or smarter than the rest. However, researchers have conducted a vast number of empirical studies on what factors contribute to success, and in what proportion. A classic example of one of these studies is the 1972 book Inequality, by Christopher Jencks. (1) And these studies show that the meritocrat's position is not just arguably wrong, but clearly wrong."
The rich get rich because of their merit.
"On moral grounds, then, we could argue for a flat income tax of 90 percent to return that wealth to its real owners. In the United States, even a flat tax of 70 percent would support all governmental programs (about half the total tax) and allow payment, with the remainder, of a patrimony of about $8,000 per annum per inhabitant, or $25,000 for a family of three. This would generously leave with the original recipients of the income about three times what, according to my rough guess, they had earned."
UBI and the Flat Tax
"Conservatism is the theoretical voice of this animus against the agency of the subordinate classes. It provides the most consistent and profound argument as to why the lower orders should not be allowed to exercise their independent will, why they should not be allowed to govern themselves or the polity. Submission is their first duty, agency, the prerogative of the elite." Corey Robin 'The Reactionary Mind' Kristol quote from this source too.