I think the aim should be less about making the rich poor and more about making the poor rich. Programs that encourage entrepreneurship, safety nets, lower taxes, etc. I think we should also consider reducing immigration and free trade to benefit labor in country.

> I think the aim should be less about making the rich poor and more about making the poor rich

I agree in principle, but reducing immigration and restricting free trade aren't policies that make the poor rich; they're policies that benefit those in possession of scarce resources at a cost to the rest of society.

Take steel tariffs for instance. They benefit the steelworkers, at the cost of every domestic industry that consumes steel. The entire economy pays to support an otherwise unprofitable industry.

Reducing immigration won't magically increase the supply of skilled workers. There aren't masses of unskilled poor who aren't going to college due to immigration putting downwards pressure on skilled wages. They aren't going to college because they lack the resources and opportunity.

I think it's a trade-off. Tariffs and the like will make us less efficient as a whole, but will shift money back towards labor. Right now I think we're tilted too far towards efficiency which is leading to wealth accreting in the hands of a wealthy fortunate few owning massively successful companies.

I’m pro trade and pro immigration, but the argument on the other side is if you open up both, labor in the US now has to compete on a global arena rather than being somewhat protected via isolationist policies.

> How do you effectively tax actual rich people without squashing the middle class?

Here's some ideas:

1. Tax stock buybacks similar to dividends. Or eliminate them entirely. This leads to...

2. Let unearned income tax brackets go up to the same % levels as earned income, only for different income levels. For example, if $400k in earned income is 38%, then maybe $2m in unearned income should also be 38%. Right now long term cap gains tops out at 15%, which is bullshit.

3. Since wealthy people borrow against their assets to spend, instead of selling assets and incurring taxes, place limits on interest deductions when doing this. There are already similar limits in place for mortgage interest deductions.

> how do you effectively tax actual rich people without squashing the middle class?

By using a tax ladder [1] (tax rate increases in steps).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_ladder

Can you name any that do?