'I'm in the 1 per cent. Please, raise my taxes'

THERE is a story that we like to tell about American capitalism. Ours is a country that prizes merit, rewards risk and stands apart in its commitment to the collective success of open markets and the free flow of capital. We are a nation of strivers who can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps with the right combination of grit and determination.

That is the tale that we love to tell and hear. But take it from a person who has found himself on the fortunate side of that narrative: This story is incomplete. For most people, our system is not working.

I say this as the child of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania who came here with little more than an oversized belief in what America could offer. Their faith was well-placed: My parents watched me build two Fortune 500 companies and become one of the wealthiest people in the country.