Will The Economy Collapse?

[median]

These are some good points, and I'm glad we are clarifying terms. When I took my undergrad BA in Philosophy I very badly wanted to study economics, and I did take some classes. However, for me they were not enough and my views on these things have been changing over the years (naturally turning from "Conservative" - with a capital C - Christian to something different). So for me, these issues are not all worked out - which is partially why I started this thread (great article at Business Insider btw).

So, are we basically saying that redistribution is the best idea? That is, a progressive tax on higher earners? Or am I missing something? Is there more to the cake than that? More details perhaps? If we could get such a progression "done" (i.e. - passed), and that's a big IF...Wait, nevermind. How will we get this thing passed?

I'm certainly troubled by this inequality too. Heck, I am self employed and business is down. Times are TOUGH. It's hard to get people to commit etc. And I've been doing my particular line of work, professionally, for 15+ years. Would I like to make more money? Of course! How we will get there exactly, I just don't know b/c I am (to be honest) somewhat conflicted. If I worked hard all my life to provide for myself and protect my family, and then some government agency came along and took a bunch of what I earned saying, "You don't really need all this" I would be pissed. Yet, this inequality of wealth obviously sucks too. How can we create an environment that is fair for all?

I suppose this problem may very well relate to human nature itself (or at least a clash between two generally differing ways of thinking). One side wants "free markets" (free for all/every man to himself, etc) and the other side wants CO-operation. Would that be fair to say?