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From: rjv@ihdev.UUCP (ron vaughn)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: re-distribution of wealth
Message-ID: <138@ihdev.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Jan-85 14:06:34 EST
Article-I.D.: ihdev.138
Posted: Mon Jan  7 14:06:34 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jan-85 05:43:29 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 79

i'm posting this for a friend.  please do not respond to me,
respond to the address given at the bottem of this letter.

	ron

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Re-distribution of wealth and government entitlement programs
	(such as welfare and social security) are wrong.  Both ethically
	and practically.

	The graduated tax system, for the purpose of re-distribution of
	wealth through the welfare and social security systems, is
	wrong.  It violates my basic property rights by forcing me
	to give up some of the money that I have earned so that it can
	be given to someone who the government has judged to be poor.
	If I have earned that money, I should be free to spend it
	as I see fit.  This includes the decision of how much money
	I would like to give to needy people, if any at all.

	The idea of re-distribution of wealth also violates the basic
	rights of the needy, though in a more subtle way. It violates
	their right to pursuit of happiness.  Who assumed that needy
	people don't want to be needy?  If a person wanted to earn
	money, he is certainly free to, and there is no lack of jobs.
	If a person doesn't want to work, the government should leave
	him free to pursue the lifestyle of his choice.  If he truly
	needs help, he can seek it among the private charities that
	are funded by money freely given by those who earned it.

	There are several ways that re-distribution of wealth hurts
	the country monetarily.  First, since it is administered by
	the government (instead of private organizations), there is
	inherent waste that robs all, rich and poor alike, of money
	because of the bureaucracy.  Secondly, it removes incentive
	to work from the poor and jobless because their needs will
	be met by the government.  It keeps old people from planning
	for the future because they depend on social security, it
	leads un-wedded mothers to have more children just to get
	more benefits, and causes a host of other ills.  Thirdly,
	it removes incentives from the richer people to advance them-
	selves.  To work harder to advance yourself will only put
	you in higher tax bracket.  And the harder you work, and
	the more you earn, the more money the government will take.
	I guess people don't realize it, but this is discrimination.
	A discrimination against talent and motivation, which must
	be the most counter-productive kind of discrimination that
	there is, because it cuts down the very best in us and
	promotes mediocrity.  It slowly saps the strength of this
	country until we won't be able to feed anyone, much less
	the poor.

	The simple fact is, we can't afford the welfare system.
	We can't afford to feed the world.  Look at the federal
	deficit.  We have shortfalls in the budget because of the
	amount of money that the government spends on entitlements.
	We will have to pay for it someday.  Who will be left to do
	it?   The work force grows smaller all the time as its ranks
	are sapped by people who come under the government's care.
	When are we going to turn the trend around?  Besides which,
	we are paying for the deficit right now.  We are paying
	for it in terms of inflation (like we saw in the 70's) and
	in a tight money supply (like high interest rates in the
	80's). This causes a shortage of capital needed to improve
	industry so that it can compete on the open market.  The
	steel industry has already fallen prey to this effect.  Who
	will be next?  In effect we are eating the seed corn of our
	industrial society, a policy that can only lead to the
	collapse of our economy.  And the humanitarians should
	remember: if our economy collapses, what are the poor going
	to do then?

				Replies to:	Russell Spence
						ihnp4!ihlpm!russ
						AT&T Technologies
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