Of course David is exagerrating. By it's very nature capitalism includes far more input from the average individual that socialism or capitalism. The point however that a few benefit far more than most is still valid. In the ideal system of capitalism, those would be those that have worked the hardest and/or contributed the most to growth. I believe David's negative attitude stems from an objective evaluation of the data most Americans are capable of that our system has been warped rather far from the ideal.

Wall street traders and corporate CEO's are not the individuals most responsible for economic growth in America. They simply benefit from handling large money transactions often with no more relative skill than a bank teller paid hourly. Traders get orders they execute them. Hourly workers who care about improving their jobs, scientists, engineers, and floor managers with clear focus on the details that improve productivity are who improves productivity. It doesn't take much brains to approve a project that meets a set ROI criterion that someone else brings you. It doesn't take much brains to look like you are making good decisions when you have a lot of good options to allocate your resources to either. CEO's have a tough demanding job that is deserving of high pay, but their good results are often the results of many people who operate with nothing but vague direction from them. They do not deserve to continuously escalate their pay while holding that of those below them stagnant simply because they happen to control the purse strings.

Regards,
Mark