Deroy Murdock has a sharp column today on the campaign to demonize the rich, as recently exemplified in the rant by Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders on the Senate floor.
Murdock makes the point that some of the very rich acquired their money through political pull and knowing how to take advantage of opportunities for profit that would not have existed but for government interference in the economy, especially the winners in the great housing bubble. Instead of raising taxes on everyone, why not clean up all the cesspools that allow people with connections (for example, Fannie Mae’s former director, Franklin Raines, who raked in a nice $80 million) to profit without risk?