This is why I don't think having that high of a tax does anything for lower class. The truth is America needs corporate reform laws that limit these giant corps ability to exploit. Truth is corporate America runs this country. You have shareholders who demand high dividends, which forces corps to cut corners; you have politicians essentially employed by these corporations who pass laws that make it legal for them to exploit the working class; and then you have the working class who are forced to play by these rules, partly because of those very laws, but also because the system makes no exception for people who don't want to participate. Don't want to play the game? Ok, no insurance. No insurance? Ok pay govt through Obamacare (not a fan of that aspect of Obamacare but I see why it was put in place), and pray nothing catastrophic happens to you.
This system cannot sustain itself any longer. It wasn't built to be able to withstand the economy being led by these mega corporations. The education system, healthcare system is in shambles because of people who actively push to repress major reform. Due to this, the economy is going to fold into a really severe depression. And when that does happen, it will affect everyone from top to bottom. When we all suffer together is when things will change.
By the way these corporations are international. If things get bad here, they can relocate anywhere in the world, or at least shift the main focus abroad. However, there are way more variables in play that corporations can't control abroad, which is why they would like to stay here in America, where exploitation is easy access and the government is easily manipulated. Once we put reform on the fore front and commit to it, corps will be shook.
By the way, corporations aren't entities unto themselves like people think. The people at the very top decide all the choices made. When a CEO fukks up, it's not the company itself acting to replace him, as if doctrine is stronger than the entity itself; it's shareholders that get together and make choice to replace the figurehead, and usually in a symbolic act (firing them and leaking it to the media), not a literal one (CEOs get "retirement" packages).
Yeah, its gonna fall apart. And populism is growing popular all over the world despite the recent right-wing victories of the last few years. People are fed up with these fallacy type arguments that never made sense, and a bloody revolt isn't behind at all.
All this goes back to the idea that people are rich/successfull because they are somewhat "chosen", so in their eyes there is no real reason to share with the "unworthy". EXCEPT charity and philantropy, because that is more about who is giving than who is receiving : with taxes you can't do the photo op/attach your name, with philantropy you can. This goes hand in hand with the condescending idea that poorer people are in their position by their own fault, and on top of that would misuse whatever solidarity money they may receive through taxes. Add to that the "self-made man" myth, Thatcher-type "There is no society" and the US antagonism towards "the State" and you easily understand why taxation is damn near the devil to some. (The US being the world cultural leader, whatever happens there impacts the world through multinationals and whatnot).
These wealthy people feel that America doesn't deserve universal healthcare or great infrastructure or teachers in public schools getting paid well.