Wealth Redistribution Going Backward, not Forward

He's been quiet about it, but the president is a big believer in redistribution, with himself as the one to seize wealth and redistribute it "more equitably". Thank our lucky stars he is the man that can see where equity lies, and of course in his view it lies with his cronies at Solyndra and union thug supporters of the SEIU, with a few crumbs to the poor among us, and all done for just minor carrying charges. Yes, that is why he tells us "You didn't build that", and confides to Joe the Plumber "I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody." So he takes your money, whatever 'wealth' you might have, and spreads it around. Great.

Thomas Sowell has written a fine piece on the pitfalls of leftist ideas of confiscation and redistribution:

Those who talk glibly about redistribution often act as if people are just inert objects that can be placed here and there, like pieces on a chess board, to carry out some grand design. But if human beings have their own responses to government policies, then we cannot blithely assume that government policies will have the effect intended.

The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty. The communist nations were a classic example, but by no means the only example.

Excellent. Read the whole thing here.