I bet there are a lot of interesting posts on this thread, but here is what I think:
We are on a dangerous and unsustainable path where wealth is too concentrated at the top. When this is the case, those with the wealth have basically unlimited power. We think we live in a free, open, just society, but in reality, we now live in a society where the rich get whatever they want by funding the campaigns of slimy politicians who don't care about anything but their next election. And campaigns have become extraordinarily expensive.
I don't want the government to collect and redistribute wealth because they are terrible at that (along with almost everything they do). But I do want to find some way to deter people from hording wealth beyond all reasonable limits. Instead, we should somehow give the rich a strong incentive to re-invest that wealth in ways that will hopefully create jobs. This really is a win-win situation, since the wealthy will live in a society where more people can support the businesses the rich own and the masses will stay passive enough to let the rich enjoy their three homes each and big boats.
On the other hand, if we continue on the path we're on (which we are going to do like it or not), we will see the working poor become the majority in the US, and they will become increasingly angry. We will have a debt crisis first and local and state levels, but eventually at the federal level. When governments start defaulting on debt, shit is going to hit the fan, and the large lower to "middle" class will already be ready to ignite. Then the rich had better watch out. Not only will their investments have gone mostly to shit, but they will be marked men and women.
I'm a generally conservative person in my early 30s with a graduate degree in engineering and a good, high-paying job. I'm not a hippie anarchist. I hope at least some of you other politically independent and relatively intelligent readers are thinking about what is going on. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be massive, painful changes in our country within my lifetime.