Run the numbers, the billionaires don't actually have that much money compared to the hordes of doctors, lawyers and managers. If you want to cut the masses a meaningful sized check (lump sum or over time really makes no difference) you're going to need to take it from more than just the very top. Look at how Europe pays for its social safety nets. That's on the order what the tax burden would look like. You can't just snap your fingers and make that happen. Well you can, but that's a great way to get you and your like minded buddies shot in the hole you just dug. That frog needs to be boiled slowly and doing it that way isn't a sure thing. Basically you have to convince enough of the middle class that something that is very much not worth their while is the right thing to do.