The solution is to substitute one set of elites for another? I don't think so.

An actual solution would be to institute a "democratically distributed income." That probably sounds socialistic to many people, but it is nothing of the kind. It would result in no unemployment or poverty, but at no cost to anyone and without having to redistribute anything. It would also provide the means to eliminate taxes and public debt — for all levels of government (provided government would stick to a budget that would not exceed current per capita total government spending). The supply of money and the economy as a whole would be completely self-regulating.