OK let us dream on for a second 1% is not much of a chance anyway:

So lets take the top 5%

Around 15 million people

Net Worth: 62%

Financial wealth: 71%

A one in twenty chance?

Now that is the American dream?

Sorry; but the places are mostly taken. We can't allow the riffraff in you know........

From the US declaration of independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

One could argue that some have been better at grabbing the opportunity than others, or that the system is merely biased in favor of those considered more equal than others.

Now I hear a good deal of whining from the right that this poor segment of the top 1 to 5% would be unfairly treated if they didn't have another tax cut. Well since the top 1% already have a good percentage of the pie; I would argue that giving them even more [since tax cuts only concern current and future revenue] is somewhat hard to justify.

U.S. Constitution - Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

One could argue on one hand that since the division of wealth in the US has not varied much over time since the signing of our constitution that this was its original intent. I would argue however that the words used within wanted to progress from the existing condition and to build a better nation, rather than merely continuing the previous system of the British Empire.

Now many on the right wrap themselves in the flag with constitution stuck up their ass and scream about original intent. They misread the details and completely ignore the opening dialogue. The war of independence was not only about taxation, it was about Imperial hubris.

One could even argue it was more about indirect taxation [sales tax] as defined in the  Stamp Act of 1765 and the Revenue Act of  1767. Now I have heard many propose this as a system of fair taxation, it is not; and our ancestors new this very well.

Funnily since these taxes were not imposed with rigor things quietened down a good deal for a short time. Then a strange thing happened.

Corporate meltdown

British East India Company "Posts huge loses needs bailout". They got it in terms of a exclusive trade agreement with the government of the Empire.

The first global corporation moved from purely financial concerns to gaining political influence.

Bingo, taxes were now levied with rigor and we all know what happened next. The British decided on confrontation rather than negotiation; a power struggle then took place, and hey presto after a long war [1775 to 1782] we won.....

Sort of.

We slowly moved into the vacuum created first by the British and french Empires having a spat then long and grinding wars in Europe that finally reduced European influence to its own back yard.

Our Corporations jumped for joy and we now have 'free trade' policies that only really profit the top 1% whilst the rest of scrabble around for .what we can get. We now have  corporate empires that span the globe with extraordinary influence in DC the model created by the East India Company has been improved upon because they now no longer need their own military wing since we give them that for free, hell no, they even make a profit from it...sorry for that lapsus.

We have the same economic inequality between rich and poor as we had before we became independent. Except our rich are richer than ever before with a power than spans the globe [re: The Ursala LeGuinn quote].

Hence:

Nothing changes.

We replaced one Empire with another, at least it's ours....right?

.

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Note: Re: Sales Tax

As a small business owner don't even get me started on TVA [value added tax/sales tax] I have just finished my quarterly accounts and a total pain in the asp it is, it turns into a money merry go round. I charge it, get charged it, I claim it back; someone in the end pays for it, and then it all disappears down a rabbit hole. Please, please, please just tax me directly.