Despite appearances to the contrary that built up over the years of worst administration ever, the accumulation of wealth is not a deterrent to character all the time. The spectacle of economic disaster for workers has actually inspired members of the ‘filthy rich’ (in the U.S., .6% that earn a third of all income) to wince, and assume responsibility for righting the wrongs they can:

A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes.

The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany’s economic recovery.

Germany could raise 100bn euros (£91bn) if the richest people paid a 5% wealth tax for two years, they say.

The petition has 44 signatories so far, and will be presented to newly re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The group say the financial crisis is leading to an increase in unemployment, poverty and social inequality.

Simply donating money to deal with the problems is not enough, they want a change in the whole approach.

“The path out of the crisis must be paved with massive investment in ecology, education and social justice,” they say in the petition.

…

The group held a demonstration in Berlin on Wednesday to draw attention to their plans, throwing fake banknotes into the air.

Mr Vollmer said it was “really strange that so few people came”.

There’s a wistful quality to their expectations that basic decency would attract a better following.

It will be a long road back from the ethical wasteland of the supply side economics of recent years. Under the goad of academic robber barons, much of the business community was incentivized to see their greed as good for society. With a mantra that free markets would redound to the good of all society, they amassed fortunes through tax relief and variances. All this was done without acknowledging that beneficiaries of tax policy were committing robbery against those who had to make up the difference – a difference produced by favoritism toward the very rich.

The revolt of those among the well-off who do not feel comfortable taking more than they earn, and leaving too little for those who earn more than they get, will not arrive overnight. As a matter of fact, it’s the effect of this robber barony that has impoverished the country.

An observable truth: By disabling consumers and decimating disposable income, concentration of wealth at the top cheats all businesses.

The disaster that the trickle-down theory has produced is burning a hole in everyone’s pockets. The action of those who can reverse that poor judgment, making a correction of economic policies that will allow workers to support themselves, will be necessary to end the debacle.

Moral action by a few is providing an increasingly needed impetus toward rational economic behavior.