MARCH 2014
DOMESTIC
able redistribution, like that which occurred in Ancient Greece. On the brink
of rebellion and ruin, Solon, a moderate businessman of aristocratic descent,
was elected to power. He helped debtors
by devaluing currency, he introduced a
graduated income tax, and restructured
the courts to include more equal representation. Such modifications were
echoed by America’s own Populist Party platform of 1896. Forty years later,
a peaceable redistribution occurred in
America’s post-depression era, and again
in the 1960’s Great Society. When that
happened, “the upper classes in America
cursed, complied, and resumed the concentration of wealth,” writes Durant.
It would seem from this account that the
redistribution of resources to ease middle
class burdens and tensions of inequity is
a natural process, reinforced by our human nature and observed over centuries.
Why must we deal with this issue
year after year, decade after decade? It’s
because we aren’t solving the real problems. In fact, we are barely mentioning
them. What if every journalist who wrote
a charged piece— discussing if Obama is
a socialist or if taxes will skyrocket—instead wrote about the issues that really
mattered? Imagine what would happen if
politicians and the media focused on the
underlying issues of wealth redistribution.
The occupiers may have left their post,
but how much have things changed for the
99% since August 2011? Very little. They
still face ever-rising college tuition, take
crumbling bridges to work, and are troubled by job uncertainty. The middle class
doesn’t need handouts or hand-ups; they
need solutions to the real issues at hand.
“Could America’s Wealth Gap Lead to
a Revolt?” a recent Forbes column asks.
These and other charged pieces arguing
against wealth distribution are missing
the mark. In order to heal the wounds
of wealth gaps, we must address what is
causing and perpetuating them. Arguging
over wealth distribution is a false debate.
Instead of picking a side of the barricade,
it’s time to take a step back, look at long
term solutions, and step solidly ahead.
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