You don't tax the poor in any point in history- you exploit their labor. Others get wealthy doing that. You tax that. But wealth and labor are both required to create prosperity. Prosperity is not a measure of financial wealth at all. basic econ here, man.
- Farmers don't get rich.
- Ever. Anywhere. In any history time line.
- Prosperity is the other wealth creating classes. Nobility. Land owners, merchants, artisans.
- The wealth making classes EAT food... they don't grow it.
- Food isn't wealth. It never has been. It lays the foundation for wealth to be created.
- When you run out of food your prosperity will drop off a cliff (hey wow the game models this) until the food can sustain the people again and wealth comes back. This is called a recession, depression, famine, etc. In modern times sometimes the driving underlying resource isn't food, but is usally somethig very basic the extraction of which isn't associated with wealth (like basic health and the corona virus- this is the labor extraction). Even if it's because of market futures and speculation.
- The top of the system has never caused an economic fall in any point in history. The top may have steered into a direction where the base gets yanked, but it's always the base that limits prosperity.
- The above are basic economic principals usually taught pre the 101 course. usually all quite self evident when you look at reality.
- Bannerlord has done a very intriguing take on this that needs some tweeks but the basic principals are sound. How the system self limits and moves in cycles makes for a fun challenge that doesn't spiral into exponential growth.