If we INVESTED in our people with free lunches, single payer health care, no cost higher ed, a housing allowance/ubi, paid family leave (not thru the employer, but as a govt service), we would all be richer because we would have a healthier, better adjusted better educated, thus more productive population. The net cost would be a negative number.

Of course, instead we gift the rich with benefits they cant even use, who instead hoard them and fail to pay the meager taxes they owe (the max tax is at 37% on money of $609,000, and most of their money is actually protected under either capital gains, again, a max of 20%, or “buy borrow and die” at zero tax) under the current system.