"Redistribution of wealth": A very misleading term

Little-Acorn

Gold Member
Jun 20, 2006
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San Diego, CA
I keep hearing liberals and other socialists say they want to "redistribute" the wealth in this country. But that implies that the wealth was "distributed" by someone to us all in the first place, and maybe that someone did a bad job and the liberal socialists think they can do it better.

But wealth was never "distributed" to any of us, except maybe by welfare clerks to various indigent persons. But the $100 that's in my wallet now, wasn't distributed to me by anyone. A guy with a car and I made an agreement: I'd tune up his car and fix a few things on it, and he'd pay me $100 to do it. I tuned it up, changed the oil, and replaced two squeaking belts that were badly worn. He's happy, now it starts easier, gets better gas mileage, and doesn't make weird sounds as he drives. He'd much rather have a car that drives like this, than have the $100; and I'd much rather have the $100 and don't mind getting my hands dirty to do something I do well.

Nobody "distributed" anything to either one of us. He and I made a deal, both of us gave the other something of value, both of us are happy with the outcome.

But if our modern liberal socialists had come along just then, they might have taken the guy's $100, and the guy couldn't have gotten me to fix his car. He'd still have a sh*tty-running car that sometimes wouldn't start, I'd be $100 poorer... which means my son would be walking 3 miles to school instead of riding the bike I was about to fix up for him. The liberal socialists want me to think that a better use was made of that $100, than we would have made of it... but when we asked them exactly what the money was used for, they can't answer the question.

People who talk about "redistributing" wealth, are lying. What they are doing, is taking something that was yours, that you earned, and telling you that (a) they know better how to use it than you do, and (b) this somehow makes it OK for them to take it from you, whether you like it or not.

These people aren't "redistributing" anything, because your money wasn't "distributed" to you in the first place. You EARNED it, and you got it because you DESERVED it, not because some uninvolved bureaucrat thought your having it would somehow be a good idea and so gave his blessing on you to receive it.

"Redistributing" is the liberal socialists' way of implying you did NOT earn your money, and so it's not really yours. And pretending that his deciding what to use your money for, is the natural order of things. Not the idea that since you earned it, YOU should decide what to use it for. They're trying to get you away from that idea.

A man who jerks you into an alley, sticks a gun in your face, and demands you give him your money or he'll blast you, is doing the same thing those liberal socialists are. The only difference is, the guy with the gun is being more honest and straightforward about it. He's not pretending you owe him anything, and not trying to get you to believe that what he's doing is "moral", and not trying to fool you into thinking that your keeping your money is eeevil.

Next time one of our liberal socialists tells you he wants to "redistribute" the wealth, remember what he's really saying. And remember that in many ways you'd be better off with somebody sticking a gun in your face.
 
"Tax the rich more" won't solve the very real problem of the unnatural income redistribution that is happening up the income ladder.

This inequality of property is the result of legislative manipulation tilting the field in the favor of a few. We are rapidly becoming an oligarchy.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSjm_PrkvbM]Obama lies about taxes and wealth redistribution - YouTube[/ame]
 
The Golden Rule states....He who has the gold makes the rules

Don't redistribute existing wealth but it is time to change those rules
 
The Golden Rule states....He who has the gold makes the rules

Don't redistribute existing wealth but it is time to change those rules

You want Government to steal other peoples wealth and give it to you and your buddies. I hope that never happens, it is wrong and illegal.

Here is an allegory I used yesterday to explain what is happening in our country:

Imagine an oligarch who controls all the oil in the country. He would be able to charge you whatever he feels like for a gallon of gas. You would be completely hostage to such a setup. By this means, wealth would be unnaturally transferred from the pocket of the common man to the hands of a few.

Now imagine all the ways the government can aid and abet the gasoline oligarch.

The government could lease oil-rich lands to the oligarch for pennies. The government could give tax breaks to the oligarch. Hell, the government could give subsidies to the oligarch, too.

The government could create a morass of nuisance regulations, helpfully written by the oligarch for the government, which make it extremely difficult for a competitor to break into the field.

The government could withhold all the tax breaks, subsidies, and R&D funds from alternative sources of energy that it gives to the oligarch.

In return, the politicians would have their campaign coffers filled by the oligarch. They would effectively become an American Politboro.


All of these would create what Thomas Jefferson called "an inequality in property", and anyone of integrity would demand they be corrected. Only a fool would blow it all off, dismissing the artificially created inequality as so much vapor. Another kind of fool would believe "tax the rich more" would solve this problem, but they would be punishing the innocent along with the guilty.

Ignorance of these machinations makes both of them wrong.
 
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And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.
 
Income Redistribution
Immigration Reform...
Senate Bill S744
House Resolution 2131

Since Americans lack required skills sets we will invite 1.5 million Business Visas every year in various industries to compensate for such lack.
THAT'S Income Redistribution.
 
And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

While all of that is true, the Right is equally guilty in doing nothing about the problem, or outright dismissing it, acting as apologists and defenders of the guilty.

Our entire system is corrupt, from left to right, top to bottom. It is time to bust out of your partisan paradigm, Gunny.
 
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And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

While all of that is true, the Right is equally guilty in doing nothing about them, or outright dismissing them, acting as apologists and defenders of the guilty.

Our entire system is corrupt, from left to right, top to bottom. It is time to bust out of your partisan paradigm, Gunny.

And yet you only attack the right. Remind us again how you are an independent?
 
"Tax the rich more" won't solve the very real problem of the unnatural income redistribution that is happening up the income ladder.

This inequality of property is the result of legislative manipulation tilting the field in the favor of a few. We are rapidly becoming an oligarchy.

Hey, first time in a while you managed to stay the fuck on topic and say something intelligent.

And I fully agree, income inequality is oddly a side effect that of corruption in government where policy favors a smaller % of people. Not to say all rich people benefited from Government or it's policy, there are many out there whom have made a great amount of wealth through pure hard work, good ideas and superior business sense.
 
The Golden Rule states....He who has the gold makes the rules

Don't redistribute existing wealth but it is time to change those rules

A know nothing welfare peeon would follow such a small minded rule. There is plenty of opportunity out there, the issue is people want to spend other people money on an education, then be guaranteed a job at a outrageous wage... Or people that have little to no education, want nothing t do with bettering themselves but demand "living wage" pay.

The main point I'm trying to make is people feel now that working for someone else for 20-30 years should mean they are wealthy, have a retirement, 2 houses, kids in college and vacations around the world. At no point do these people consider that starting their own business is even a option....

If you don't take the risk you can't expect the pay off. Don't like the pay and environment of being a teacher working for one of the worlds worst education systems, that the american DOE controls? Start your own school... FUUUK THAT! demand your union give you more vacation time and make it impossible for you to get fired no matter how piss poor of a job you do.
 
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And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

While all of that is true, the Right is equally guilty in doing nothing about the problem, or outright dismissing it, acting as apologists and defenders of the guilty.

Our entire system is corrupt, from left to right, top to bottom. It is time to bust out of your partisan paradigm, Gunny.

Man, you're on a roll today!
 
The Golden Rule states....He who has the gold makes the rules

Don't redistribute existing wealth but it is time to change those rules

You want Government to steal other peoples wealth and give it to you and your buddies. I hope that never happens, it is wrong and illegal.

Here is an allegory I used yesterday to explain what is happening in our country:

Imagine an oligarch who controls all the oil in the country. He would be able to charge you whatever he feels like for a gallon of gas. You would be completely hostage to such a setup. By this means, wealth would be unnaturally transferred from the pocket of the common man to the hands of a few.

Now imagine all the ways the government can aid and abet the gasoline oligarch.

The government could lease oil-rich lands to the oligarch for pennies. The government could give tax breaks to the oligarch. Hell, the government could give subsidies to the oligarch, too.

The government could create a morass of nuisance regulations, helpfully written by the oligarch for the government, which make it extremely difficult for a competitor to break into the field.

The government could withhold all the tax breaks, subsidies, and R&D funds from alternative sources of energy that it gives to the oligarch.

In return, the politicians would have their campaign coffers filled by the oligarch. They would effectively become an American Politboro.


All of these would create what Thomas Jefferson called "an inequality in property", and anyone of integrity would demand they be corrected. Only a fool would blow it all off, dismissing the artificially created inequality as so much vapor. Another kind of fool would believe "tax the rich more" would solve this problem, but they would be punishing the innocent along with the guilty.

Ignorance of these machinations makes both of them wrong.

Omg, please don't say anything stupid today and make me regret all my +reps for you!
 
And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

While all of that is true, the Right is equally guilty in doing nothing about them, or outright dismissing them, acting as apologists and defenders of the guilty.

Our entire system is corrupt, from left to right, top to bottom. It is time to bust out of your partisan paradigm, Gunny.

And yet you only attack the right. Remind us again how you are an independent?

You have a serious block in your mind.

Go back and re-read my posts.

Read about the two different fools. Guess which one is on the Left?

I am quite against the "tax the rich" solution, Gunny. It won't solve the problem.
 
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And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

While all of that is true, the Right is equally guilty in doing nothing about them, or outright dismissing them, acting as apologists and defenders of the guilty.

Our entire system is corrupt, from left to right, top to bottom. It is time to bust out of your partisan paradigm, Gunny.

And yet you only attack the right. Remind us again how you are an independent?

G5 attacks both sides, but his main issue is he gets waaaay off topic a lot so that he can attack the right. G5 gets off topic Obama is President with a Dem senate, meaning most of what goes on is because of Obama, and thus most threads and topics are based on Obama and Dems, just like under Bush it was about Bush and Reps, even when dems owned the house and Senate but in order to attack the right you have to consistently change the topic.

Obamacare is the main area where g5 gets lost.
 
Most "wealth inequality" is the result of legitimate, voluntary business, not government cheating and legislation.

But not all of it.

If government would confine itself to prosecuting the businesses and other groups that cheat, coerce, violate contracts etc., instead of "spreading the wealth around (to quote a certain politician who actually said it on TV once), the nation would be twice as wealthy (that's nearly everybody) than it is now. And government would be 1/4 its present size. Which is still pretty big.

In fact, that's the legitimate function of govenment.

We've gotten WAY too far away from that.
 
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And yet the left LOVES Government involvement and rather then address the supposed evils YOU write about would rather write more laws stripping people of their rights money and property.

Maybe they think it is merely a more 'legalistic' version of Amazon or eBay?
 
Most "wealth inequality" is the result of legitimate, voluntary business, not government cheating and legislation.

But not all of it.

If government would confine itself to prosecuting the businesses and other groups that cheat, coerce, violate contracts etc., instead of "spreading the wealth around (to quote a certain politician who actually said it on TV once), the nation would be twice as wealthy (that's nearly everybody) than it is now. And government would be 1/4 its present size. Which is still pretty big.

In fact, that's the legitimate function of govenment.

We've gotten WAY too far away from that.

So let me get this fucking strait... Government causes less income inequality yet business gets away with it because Government does not do it's job.... Wouldn't that be Governments fault like we are fucking telling you? Government ignores, pays subsidies, gives tax credits and loop holes to businesses due to corruption. Don't believe me, just look at Obama's and Bush's top 10 donner's... Most of then are the same people.

It's like talking a a fucking wall... Government failed to do "their actual job" despite running massive deficits in spending to do that job.... You're answer is... IT'S Big Corporations fault !!

Really?


Kinda impossible seeing that Obama said he was gonna go line by line to end all this crap. Guess he lied about that too seeing corporation corruption with Government is at historic heights n all.
 
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The Golden Rule states....He who has the gold makes the rules

Don't redistribute existing wealth but it is time to change those rules

You want Government to steal other peoples wealth and give it to you and your buddies. I hope that never happens, it is wrong and illegal.

Where did I say that?

Still struggling with English?
 

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