I'd like to point out I'm not an "economist", I just have a very small business. I see things in a microcosm and then project that to a bigger scale. Here's what I see: When you pay taxes to your local government, say towns and state, you might be interested in how they utilize the funds. You might attend a meeting about a new school, or town office building. You might participate in a local bake sale, or even give money to a local cause. However, if you were NOT paying taxes to the local government, would you take any interest in the issues that needed attention? Probably not.
The problem with not taxing the rich, is that now they have no skin in the game.
They don't give a damn about this country, or what happens to us. We are of no use to them. If they had to pay their fair share, and if their businesses needed workers in order to create profits, they would begin caring a lot more. With capital gains taxes near to nothing, they won't hire people, because they make more money DOING NOTHING than they do by growing their business.
Think of this: the most powerful folks in the country, even the world, would begin to take jobs creation and the economy more seriously. But with total control of DC, these hucksters have no reason to care about this country, actually, they think of it as their big sandbox in which they can play amongst themselves, and they don't care if they muck it up. They don't have any skin in the game.