Max Borders gives 10 reasons why we shouldn’t worry so much about income inequality:
1. Worrying about the gap is not the same as worrying about the poor.
Whenever you read yet another article about the rich-poor gap, join me in asking ‘So what?.’ Some of the smartest (and even richest) people in America conflate concern for the poor with concerns about how much rich people have. … the meaningful conversation is about absolute poverty, not relative poverty.
2. Envy is a paleolithic instinct that should remain in the Stone Age.
Our ancestors lived in small clans of no more than 150 people. … Everyone was better off sharing -- engaging what you might call “slow trade.” … these inborn cooperative strategies -- while successful in Stone Age contexts -- don’t scale very well. … Sharing among 50 is not analogous to sharing among 350 million. … systems of redistribution are built on instincts forged in the fires of our genetic past … Guilt, envy and indignation -- the Stone Age Trinity -- are cave man ethics that should be tempered.7. Philanthropy is hard, but more effective than taxes.
… it’s hard to give and give wisely. It takes work -- when the government takes more in taxes, you can conclude your work here is done. You have bought, very cheaply, a sense of rectitude -- but without all the hassle.
