The now commonly-held Marxist concept of "spreading wealth" (or "redistribution") advocates manipulating government power to forceably take property (money) from an individual who has earned it so as to give it to someone else who has not.This places every productive individual in society into involuntary servitude -- something explicitly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution; specifically, the 13th Amendment).
In the private sector this "redistribution" is called theft. In the public sector this is called taxation; which Bastiat called legal plunder. Theft in the public sector is worse because it assumes that all wealth belongs to the government and not the individual who earned it. At least the common thief knows better.
This concept of redistributive taxation has nothing to do with adequately funding the very few legitimate, constitutional functions of government.
The government's proper role is to protect individual rights against violation. Not to run the economy or act as general benefactor.
What we have now is a society of individuals who all seek to live at everyone else's expense.
The illogic is astounding. The sad consequences have already been well documented. Need we, yet again, pursue this folly?
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Sheldon Richman | Foundation for Economic Education | November 7, 2008
Because there are economic laws, there are limits to what "we" can do and how we can do it. (By we, of course, Obama doesn't mean the spontaneous social order; he means the state and deliberate planning.)
Taxes are to make government function, not spread wealth around
Ed Blanchfield | Asheville Citizen-Times | November 8, 2008
The purpose of the income tax is to run the government. It is not to spread the wealth. Sen. Obama and his supporters tell us it works better when we spread the wealth around. Spreading the wealth is fine, provided it is spread by those who have it. Forcibly taking someone's wealth is wrong and used to be un-American.
Evil Concealed By Money
Walter E. Williams | November 19, 2008
Evil acts can be given an aura of moral legitimacy by noble-sounding socialistic expressions such as spreading the wealth, income redistribution or caring for the less fortunate.
