Eat the Rich

There seems to be a growing sentiment of hostility towards the producers in our society. I'm speaking particularly about the belief that those with more, the rich, should be taxed more than those who have less. This idea seems to rest on the notion that opportunity and luck dictate wealth and therefore it is unfair for anyone to have more than anyone else. But is this really fair? Do we strive for a world in which everyone is equal in what they have? Certainly there are people who produce more, who do more, and accomplish more in our society and I find it impossible to believe that this is bad. So often I hear the accusation that the rich are greedy, selfish, and uncaring. Such an irrational stereotype is not only untrue it promotes a type of thinking that would undermine a true notion of fairness and equality.
Admittedly there are greedy and selfish rich people who steal and cheat to get what they have but the vast majority of the wealthy people in the US are highly productive people who are no greedier than the general populous. I would even make the argument that those who demand an unearned handout from the rich are more greedy than the rich who are reluctant to have their property forcibly taken from them ala Robin Hood.
Trying to identify the underlying motives such as greed, charity, etc. however, is not very useful. It is more practical to look at the actual outcomes of government and social policy. The rich are the ones who drive the economy of our society; they create jobs and produce the things that all of us need like health care, cars, computers, software, food, and everything else. Burdening the producers with ever growing taxes is reminiscent of the goose and the golden egg, wherein one becomes so greedy for the goods that he kills the very thing that produces it.
I find it profoundly hypocritical for the thieves and abusers of power who occupy many political positions to label the rich as greedy and to suppose that they would be better stewards of their wealth. History has shown too often that their purported noble intentions betray an underlying greed and lust for control and power that far exceeds the accusations they point at the rich.
I believe that there is sufficient goodwill in the hearts of mankind that if given the right to property, freedom, and an environment of morality, the rich will give to the poor. They will help them far better than the meddling hand of government can because it will be done in the framework of charity and sincere kindness. If such goodwill does not exist then we are hopeless and no level of government intervention will save us.