This is really a story about the ultimate flaw in universal suffrage and democracy. People act in their self-interest regardless of the costs. If they can turn their government into a wealth distributor, they will. The poor outnumber the wealthy and they will vote to give themselves the assets of the rich.
It takes too much time to work hard and expand your own wealth. It's a lot easier to go to the polls and simply vote yourself into prosperity by forcefully taking it from those who have worked hard to create their own wealth.