The current economic system is heavily redistributive. It works very strongly to redistribute wealth and income from those who have little to those who have a

The current economic system is heavily redistributive. It works very strongly to redistribute wealth and income from those who have little to those who have a lot. The main function of two whole branches of government is maintaining the wealth of people who have a lot. What people are advocating for is less income redistribution to the top. It is worth noting that if you ask the public how wealth is distributed currently, and how it should be, the U.S. public desires a sort of socialist utopia, more equal than Sweden: http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/norton%20ariely.pdf http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/norton%20ariely.pdf Note that people prefer that socialist utopia regardless of their personal wealth and regardless of their political orientation. EVERYONE prefers that. There is complete Democrat-Republican rich-poor consensus that the United States would be better off if it were much more equal. In the U.S. at least, and probably elsewhere, most of the opposition to social welfare policies is rooted in racism. The best way to derail any proposed social welfare idea is to talk about all the black people that will be helped by it. This opposition has nothing do with how the individual will be affected by the proposed policies in a monetary sense.