Here is an interesting quote from Adrian Rogers that I think should be considered by the governments of the world as they try to figure out how to help the poor, especially during these tougher times
“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it”
Of course governments have an important role to play in the fair distribution of resources, but when the creators of wealth feel exploited it might lead to the situation where the rich increasingly find innovative ways to hide their wealth from the governments.
In the press and development circles there is now increasingly discussions about addressing market failures (cases where markets do not allocate goods in socially optimal ways), but what is not discussed are cases where government failures lead to the poor getting poorer, or staying poor. A simple example is the topic of good quality public education. In todays connected economies government failures in education disproportionately affects the poor, resulting in the poor being trapped. At some point the wealthy may react by saying that they should not be held accountable to continued failures (ignorance or denial) by the public sector, leading to a diversion of profits.
Hey, what do you think about this issue?
This is ringing so many bells. In Germany, those most affected by the Government’s failures in the area of education are the poor – and, in addition, poor people with migrant backgrounds. There is no other country in Europe with less options and possibilities for the poor to get out of the trap of bad education leading to bad/no jobs. With 50% of all primary school children now having extra PAID tuition in order to try and get into the grammar schools, it’s no wonder that poor children have no chance. And with a half-day school system, mothers are supposed to help their children in the afternoons – not just reading with them, that’s fine – but also doing some of the teaching. Without knowledge of the German school system and excellent German, this isn’t possible. Not to mention the fact that working mums just aren’t there in the afternoon to pick up where schools have left off (poorly). Sorry, this comment is moving away from your main topic of wealth division and turning into a rage against the education machine. If I may add a nasty further comment: Do you know who some of the people are who are profiting from this new and rapidly increasing business success (the 50% extra tuition upsurge)? That’s right: teachers themselves! After all, they have time in a half-day system. Last time I asked (for my underachieving son), I was quoted 40 € per 45 minute lesson with one of the teachers who should have been teaching him in school to teach him out of school. Can you believe it?! Right, enough ranting and raving.
I wonder how the public sector can be held accountable? There’s all that power to get through. And the public’s voice, however angry, is so little, so quiet, so easily swept over.