by Kevin Alfred Strom
A SELF-STYLED economist recently opined that “the redistribution of wealth is the primary job of governments.” And, based on what I hear on the streets of my city, a large number of people agree with him. They actually believe that the purpose of government is to “divvy up” the money and goods, using taxes and giveaways of various sorts, and make sure that everybody gets what’s “fair.”
But such a conception of government is totally preposterous. It would have seemed utterly alien to almost any American prior to the last few decades.
For example: A man works his entire life so he can become a producer of, say, superb audio electronics, as a friend of mine did — and he does so, is successful in producing his useful items and earns a few million, risking much and hiring many people in the process, from engineers to designers to floor sweepers.
What appalling and frightening hubris — to declare that some elected criminal or appointed “authority” can take all or much of his life’s work away from him with the stroke of a pen.
It is often the super-rich (in the multibillionaire class) who are behind the kind of false-flag theft schemes that this “economist” advocates. The super-rich don’t want any bright upstart new millionaire-class competitors. Ever. So they love it when the new fellows are taxed or regulated out of existence — taxes and regulations which the super-rich can evade through carefully-crafted loopholes or other tricks; and regulations they can afford, though the new upstarts can’t.
We need bright, creative people to keep as much of the wealth they earn as possible. Because 1) that’s justice, and 2) for our own selfish reasons — because bright, creative people will do bright, creative things with that wealth, and that benefits us all.
Stealing it (the “primary job of government” according to our friend the would-be redistribution commissar) and giving it to deadly dull bureaucrats and the spawn of the least intelligent among us will only end up increasing spinning hubcap sales, and Wal-Mart’s and McDonald’s bottom line. What a waste.
Furthermore, income “redistribution,” though it devastates the lives of so many families and impoverishes our civilization, gives no lasting benefit to the people it’s supposed to help.
If this Halloween you took all the wealth of the nation and divided it precisely equally among all the featherless bipeds in America, by New Year’s eve there would be millionaires and poor people by the multiple millions. So the whole exercise is pointless even if you accept its tyrannical and unconstitutional central premise.
Of course, there are fraudsters who steal other people’s wealth (besides bureaucrats and congressmen, I mean). The most egregious among them are the bankers, and I don’t mean just the Fed. I mean the entire commercial banking system, which makes “loans” on demand deposits — which is essentially creating money out of thin air, on which “created” money they have a license to collect interest. That is theft, and shouldn’t be allowed.