Wealth Redistribution: Two Stories

Anecdotes are never a valid substitute for good logic and fact; however, they can serve as examples to help illustrate logic.

I disagree with the concept of forced wealth redistribution on many levels. Most importantly, it violates one person's rights in the name of another's need. This sort of precedent does not bode well for a free society.

It also is not good for the prosperity of a society as a whole. While decreasing the incentive to work hard, it offers reward for not working hard. The logical implication of this is that people will tend to work less and produce less. Here is where my two stories come in.

Taxing the Rich

Having lunch with my friend last week, I found myself in a conversation about parents and living so far from home. My friend, whom I'll call Jane, expressed concern that her dad was bored now that he's retired.

I can understand that – my dad would never be able to sit on his hands at home. He'll probably always have some sort of occupation – even if as a mountaineering guide – because retirement would simply kill him.

From what I've been able to gather, Jane's parents are fairly well-off. They own a farm, and her dad was in some sort of medical profession. Both of them are well-educated.

So I asked Jane, "Why doesn't he just get a job?" To which she replied, "Because that would put him in the next income bracket, and he doesn't want to pay more taxes."

That kind of blew me away. Jane's dad is a highly educated – and formerly highly productive – member of society. And now, he's sitting at home, bored, because working isn't worth giving up more of his income.

To Give to the Poor

Where would his money go? Well, some of it would go to people like my in-laws' former tenant, whom I'll call Nancy.

Being a single mom, Nancy needed all the help she could get. And she was getting plenty – enough to rent a very nice house (better accommodations than I could afford at the time) – thanks to various state and federal aid.

Nancy, like many in her position, didn't want to be there forever. She wanted to go back to school so she could stand on her own and support her family.

So she got a part-time, minimum wage job, and started taking night classes. When she got the job, however, she no longer qualified for government aid – so they pulled the plug.

At that point, she had to make a decision: keep working, or pay the rent. She quit the job – and the classes – and went back to living off the government.

If Nancy had the determination to overcome her circumstances on her own, she probably could have. However, the incentive for not working was too great.

These two people, Nancy and Jane's dad, both left the workforce because of the incentives created by forced wealth redistribution. Their stories go to illustrate the point the logic already makes – that punishing success and rewarding failure merely leaves us with less success and more failure. It encourages more people to become a burden on others – and more people to shrug off their burdens.

It makes me wonder – what would our economy be like if those incentives were removed?