“Give me your prescription to fix the economy.”
If higher taxes ever worked, they won’t now and will cause business activity to decline meaning even less revenue for the government. There is really no solution to ‘our’ problems. The thing to do is for everyone to take steps to protect his own family. Trying to save the world now just won’t work.
“Why not? I mean, is return on capital any more virtuous than some guy who’s driving a bus all day and working hard and trying to support his family?”
There are two reasons why ‘capital’ gains in value. 1). Either the owner uses it (works) in the production of goods and pays income taxes while doing so or 2). Inflation. In the former case, taxes are already paid on the capital. In the second, the ‘gains’ are caused by government not the owner of the capital. So capital gains taxes are either a double tax on working people or not a ‘gain’ at all.