John,

Taxing the rich has helped the poor already. It's a popular misconception that the welfare system has been a failure. In fact, it has had many successes that it's been politically expedient for many Republicans to refuse to acknowledge. The approach toward Darwinian Capitalism is a tad short of the old saw, "the fault of the poor is that they don't have any money". There is also the idea that "the poor will always be amoung us" as if we, as a nation, should sit back and accept "the inevitable". If the "lifeboat theory" that you advocate is implemented, I'm wondering if the country might be better served by throwing the greedy and rapacious wealthy business figures overboard. Just a thought.

Respectfully,

Frank