During the ancien regime in France the rule was that if you were to be regarded as belonging to the noble class, your descendants had to engage in no trade and pay no taxes for at least three generations. The US Congress has taken a further step towards abolishing the inheritance tax, thus bringing closer the day when a fully-fledged aristocracy is firmly secured. Then, when they have abolished taxes for the rich descendants of people who made the money, why, we are back in the days of the ancien regime! (Can’t happen here! No?)
Fortunately I will not live to see the modern equivalent of the tumbrils and the guillotine. But this is the direction things are going. It illustrates what can happen when people know no history. Shortsighted and dumb.
A nation can only thrive when it’s citizens are engaged and feel the system is fair. That way lies peace of mind, the hallmark of Epicureanism, and enthusiasm. The lack of the latter was well illustrated in the turn- out and results of the recent election.
A lot of the people who preach self-sufficiency, standing on your own feet without government, and taking away help from the poor and disabled have themselves inherited fortunes (e.g the Koch brothers, the current generation of Walmart heirs etc). These people have had a fine start in life (and good luck to them), but god has nothing to do with their situation, just blind chance. They should be humble, grateful, and modest and give back to society. Some do, the sociopaths do not, and it is these who fund propaganda efforts to reduce taxes for the super-rich and attack social security.
Epicureans should resist their unseemly power.