E-Newsletter No. 56 _____ August 2018
In last month’s newsletter, we included a link to a short video entitled “There is only one way out of poverty” (i.e., Opportunity for All, and Work). In that video, Arthur Brooks observes that many progressives offer only one solution – more government spending on poverty programs. They believe we need to transfer more wealth through government taxation. This is the “income inequality” argument.
This month we are including a link to a conversation piece entitled “Defending the Dream: Why Income Inequality Doesn’t Threaten Opportunity.”
The above link is to an extensive article on the issues regarding “income inequality”, so we are also including the following link to an excerpt of the key passages –
https://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Why-Income-Inequality-Is-Inevitable.pdf
Free-market economics is not about dividing up a dwindling pie. Instead, the free market is about expanding the pie to serve everyone. Unfortunately, government interference and over-regulation have a tendency to restrict the growth of the pie. Our Editorial Board believes “less is more” – – less intrusion by the federal government has a beneficial effect on expanding the pie. Our country’s GDP growth rate during the first half of 2018 is all the proof we need.
However, the authors do point out that there is one major threat to upward mobility that needs to be combatted – – crony capitalism. But this is not a problem of the free market – – it is a problem when the government dishes out “special favors” to “special interest groups”. Whether these favors go to Hollywood producers, labor unions, or certain favored corporations / industries, these types of actions by the government violate the concept of “Favoritism to None”.
US Debt Clock – – July 1st – $64,580 per citizen / August 1st – $64,885