Challenging the myth that the rich are specially-talented wealth creators

TTIP is pushed by corporations, not individual rich people. A corporation will want that even if every one of its stockholders has a below-median wealth. More generally, organizations and people working for them will pursue their goals and these goals will be misaligned with the interests of the population at large even if nobody is involved whose net worth is particularly remarkable. If corporations are eliminated and most work is done by government agencies, then these new organizations simply become more shielded from all sorts of punishment from the population compared to corporations.

The rising nominal wealth of the richest people since 2008 is largely a result of asset price inflation resulting from low interest rates; the wealthy person is not more wealthy, however, holding a more expensive stock if the dividends and the profits are about the same as they used to be when interest rates were higher and stocks were cheaper, in fact the wealthy person is largely worse off since risk-free income is gone.

As to "unjust and dysfunctional"... aren't we all. At least a rich person can lose money in a variety of scenarios and can be intimidated by this possibility. A tenured academic pays no price whatever he does, so he's more scary that way.

edit: I'm not saying people aren't responsible, just that many of those responsible aren't that rich, and even if you mandate a ceiling on wealth and income, guess what, people will still want to get things done (because you will have a mechanism making them want to, otherwise nothing gets done - of course you can very much choose that, too), and guess what, people will get "their" things done at your expense.

In fact it's people who blame the rich who claim that people aren't responsible (their money/assets - the thing making them rich people on top of just "people" - is responsible.) I'm absolutely saying that people are responsible, and taking money from people will not solve very much.

This is not to say that nothing can be done; jailing wealthy criminals is a good start. A great economist whom nobody will blame for excessive concern for the welfare of the wealthy who'll be glad to show you his list of things to do, but who's nonetheless not "Pikettian", is Dean Baker.

Nearly all people, rich and poor, make decisions for personal gain.

What's the solution? I hear rants all the time, but no-one ever offers any concrete steps, or suggestions for new laws.

Perhaps wealth re-distribution?

Agreed. At some point, its important for the powerful to change their tactics. They often fail to adapt to their new power (that wealth brings). This is the reason for anti-trust laws, regulations on banks (which have been largely dismantled) etc. Because so few people rethink their motivations when their power to affect people goes from one-at-a-time (like most of us) to thousands and then millions of people. If they stay capricious and selfish then every whim, tantrum and greedy indulgence hurts society in ways they have failed to consider. Some few have made the transition, often at the urging of family.