The Redistribution of Wealth

If you've been listening to Bernie Sanders recently, you've probably heard him talk about redistribution of wealth.  According to Sanders, twenty people own more wealth than half of America and that's fundamentally wrong.  He says that this situation should be corrected. Maybe he's right, but I think the solution is more complicated than anyone could possibly fit into a sound bite at a political rally.

I'll tell you up front that I like Bernie Sanders and I probably would have voted for him if he had made it through the primaries.  I think the things he says are basically right, but I don't think the sweeping reforms he proposes can be achieved in a short period of time.  You can't just turn 200 years of history upside down in one generation and certainly not in one or two presidential terms.

The whole idea of redistribution of wealth poses some interesting questions.  Yes, it would be nice if everyone had basically the same amount of wealth and the power that comes with it, but what about the whole concept of free enterprise and "the land of opportunity?"  Those ideas tell us that if you work hard you'll be successful.  If you work harder then you'll be more successful.  If you work harder than anyone else then you'll be more successful than anyone else.  

Maybe that's what some of those 20 super rich people did.  Maybe they have all that money because they worked harder or worked smarter than the rest of us.  Maybe when they had a great idea they pursued it vigorously instead of just filing it away somewhere in the back of their brains like the rest of us do all the time.

Or maybe not.  Maybe they made all that money because they didn't pay their employees a living wage.  Or maybe they knew someone in a position of power who helped them gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.  Or maybe they used a political office to advance their own businesses.  Who knows.

I guess I'll conditionally agree with Bernie Sanders.  If rich people gain their wealth by taking advantage of others, then I don't think they deserve it.  If they gain their wealth because the playing field isn't level, then they don't deserve it.  If they earn their wealth through hard work and they don't hurt anyone in the process, then I think they deserve to have what they earned.

I think the best course of action is for us all to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities available to them.  Level the playing field.  If they choose to take advantage of those opportunities, good for them.  If they don't, then that's OK too.  They get to make that choice themselves.  Politicians don't get to make it for them.