Why do we pay taxes on our income but not our net worth?

I don't understand why we have to pay taxes on the income we earn but they don't tax our net worth. I've heard it's because of some court case in the 1800s that said the government doesn't have to tax people's net worth. If that's the case they just need to change the laws.<br><br>I feel like this is very unconstitutional and actually very greedy. They just want their pound of flesh from anyone that's actually earning an income. They don't tax net worth because they want the wealthy elite to accumulate wealth.