The crux of what Rand espouses is the struggle, not between the wealthy and unwealthy, but between the productive class and the unproductive class. The biggest misconstruction ballied about on these boards is the presumption that "my sweat equity is worth every penny as much as yours." The classical ignorance misses the salient point that all and everywhere, it is a VALUE proposition. One can argue that one Bill Gates is not WORTH the money he has amassed, and, in fact, NO man is (massive charitable giving notwithstanding). But the job creation, revenue base, and productivity enhancements he enabled that allow generations of more of the same make him WORTH many multiples of his actual compensation.
The political currents have shifted toward the "fairness doctrine," the doctrine that advocates redistributing the pie so that the lower tiers of socioeconomic stratification get a larger piece of the pie, without regard for the value proposition. The only problem is, the pie is shrinking and ongoing and imminent policies will ensure that the ingredients with which to continue to bake will have vanished. According to the fairness doctrine, it matters NOT that the lower tiers will, indeed, NOT receive a bigger absolute share, only a bigger representative share. In fact, their, more than others, actual piece will shrink. Unlike others on here, I don't for a minute see anything in the redistributionist rhetoric to think otherwise. The goal is to make the pyramid shorter and fatter, all in an effort to punish those who reside at the top of a thinner, taller pyramid. Unfortunately, the biggest recipients of the punishment will be the lower tiers.
Free-market capitalism is a popular target, but "traders, brokers, and mercantile dealers" actually NARROW the spread between the wholesale and the retail price. They assume an inordinant amount of risk for doing so. And they allow society to prosper. Government is not the solution. It is the disease, and it only further cements the plight of its majority shareholders. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read the following. It is very fitting within the framework of this thread. This likeminded economist, more than any other I've been able to find for FREE embodies and summarizes what I have been proposing for years. THIS IS WHERE WE ARE HEADED, and you'd best heed it.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/12/dangerous-virus-rapidly-spreading-globe.html