No quarrel with your post, except the absurd claim that "no liberal proposals change that." Rich and poor remain,
but misery is lessened by these programs. In no particular order, 1- "relief," as it was called then, saved my parents during the depression, 2- a liberal govt program saved me from poverty before I was Medicare eligible, 3- SS and Medicare have greatly reduced poverty among the elderly and saved my ass, 4- the poverty rate declined during the years after the War on Poverty was established, tho unclear if things would have gotten better anyway, 5- food stamps greatly reduced hunger, 6- free secondary education also is a government program that appears to have worked. The list goes on.
As have all other affluent countries, from FDR to Obama we have created a floor in our society below which we don't think people should sink. Whatever the faults of any of the programs, there is only a small fringe of politicians who wish to eliminate them. The slogan "repeal and replace" regarding Obamacare is itself a victory for the liberal notion of government. What conservatives used to call "creeping socialism" in the 1950s continues to creep. And as always, conservatives pay a vital role inpreventing liberals from doing really dumb things.
(By the way, it is my impression that very few of the people who pay no taxes at all are manning the barricades demanding greater taxation on the rich. It is a debate among taxpayers, with rich and not-so-rich on both sides.)
