Celebrating Income Inequality

http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=5005

Democrat and Republican candidates for President are debating one another on nearly every issue--but nearly all are united on one thing: America faces a crisis of "income inequality." The rich are getting richer, the refrain goes, while the poor and middle class are held back by stagnating wages, lousy schools, and growing healthcare costs. The solution, we are told, is more government intervention: spend more on education, provide "universal healthcare," and force employers to raise wages through minimum-wage increases and union protection legislation.

But all of this outcry is based on a false premise--that income inequality is bad. While some of the problems critics point to are legitimate concerns, income inequality is not. Income inequality is a natural and desirable part of a free, prosperous society.

In America, equality should mean only one thing: freedom for all. If business and wages were deregulated, we would see a dramatic rise in economic opportunity. If education and medicine were left free, with America's businessmen, doctors, and educators liberated to offer education and medicine at all different price points, we would see quality and price improvements like those for computers or flat-panel television sets. But these benefits of freedom require that we recognize the moral right of each individual to enjoy whatever he produces--and recognize that none of us has a right to something for nothing.

Great essay from Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Institute. I love topics like this that catch people in the contradiction of their thoughts. Most people instinctively condemn "inequality", but in this case, when they apply their minds to why that inequality exists and what is being proposed to "fix it", they find some difficult pills to swallow. This is yet another example of the two paradigms: one that is risk averse, wanting protection from one's own weakness, and the other that embraces risk and the responsibility that comes with it (and its ensuing rewards).

Too many people see only the rewards gained by some, and covet them. Not understanding why they have those rewards (e.g. proof of their profitable actions), they take on the mentality of the victim, saying that they were unfairly gained, either by unfair competitive circumstances or at the expense (exploitation) of the poor victim.