Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Untangling the roots of wealth inequality is more complex than it appears
Untangling the roots of wealth inequality is more complex than it appears
Jul 4, 2025 2:10 AM

Inequality is one of those topics that is sure to spark quick and intense debate, wherever and whenever it is raised. In any such discussion, however, facts matter. That’s one reason why my attention was recently drawn to an article published in early December at Real Clear Markets, titled “Inequality Is Decidedly Not the Problem In the U.S.” The author, Aaron Brown, writes:

There is a simple theory of inequality in which rich people have nearly all the wealth and e, and do nearly all the spending, while poor people struggle along with the minimum of those things necessary for survival. It’s understandable that some people think this way. In many places in the world today, and for plex societies in human history, the picture is accurate. Moreover, the rich elite usually hoards most of the economic opportunity, civil freedoms, political power, legal status and other good things for itself and its children.

But in the U.S. today, things are plicated. Some people have wealth, others have e and still others do the spending. These things overlap but are not identical. Wealth, e and consumption also overlap with political influence, legal favoritism, social prestige and other non-monetary assets, but the correlation with money is far from perfect.

This matters because if inequality is the problem, redistribution is the solution. The problems of the poor are caused by the hoarding of the rich. But if there are many different types of needy people due to different problems, redistribution based on wealth, e or consumption may end up taking from the needy and giving to fortable—doing considerable damage to civil rights, economic incentives and social trust along the way—and never addressing the root problems.

The whole article repays careful reading for those genuinely interested in thinking about what is (and isn’t) inequality, when it matters (and when it doesn’t matter) economically, as well as learning some of the more salient facts about inequality in America. Yes, inequality is much plicated than we realize and many of the perceived solutions turn out to exacerbate the problems.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Religion & Liberty: Land of Milk and Honey
Andy Grove, Robert Noyce, and Gordon Moore The first issue of Religion & Liberty in 2016 will explore several topics from a variety of faith traditions: entrepreneurship, the International Criminal Court, business mon grace and the 18th-century British abolition movement. Late last year I had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Bruce Baker, a Silicon Valley veteran, entrepreneur, pastor and college professor. For this issue’s interview, he discusses the history of Silicon Valley, technocracy, how Christians can be “winsome” witnesses and...
Rev. Sirico to Appear on Hannity to Discuss Pope Francis-Donald Trump Spat
Earlier today Pope Francis, while answering a questionabout Donald Trump’s views on immigration, said that anyone who wants to build a wall isn’t a Christian.Trump responded by saying, “for a religious leader to question someone’s faith is disgraceful”adding, “If ISIS attacks the Vatican, which is their ultimate trophy, I bet the Pope would wish Donald Trump was president.” Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, will discuss the controversy tonight on the Fox News Channel program,...
Video: Rev. Sirico on Trump’s Tangle with Pope Francis
This afternoon, Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico joinedhost Neal Cavuto on Fox Business Network’sCavuto Coast to Coast ment on the strange back-and-forth between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Pope Francis. After the jump, we’ve posted audio of Rev. Sirico’s appearance this morning on the Chris Salcedo Showon KSEV radio in Houston, Texas to discuss the same issue. ...
Explainer: Apple’s Fight with the FBI Over iPhone Encryption
What is the issue about? In December, 14 people were killed and 22 were seriously injured in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. The two terrorists, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, were later killed in a shootout with police. Law enforcement recovered Farook’s iPhone 5c, which they believe may contain information relevant to the terror investigation. Farook’s iPhone is protected by a passcode set to wipe the contents of the smartphone after 10 attempts to log in with...
How geography affects economic growth
The continent of Africa has so much space that you could fit most of the United States, China, India, and a lot of Europe onto it. But if pare Africa to Europe, Europe has two to three times the length of coastline that Africa has. Why does that matter? Because, as this fascinating video by Marginal Revolution University explains, coasts mean access to water which makes trade easier and increases economic growth. As the video explains, economic growth is not...
Jeb Bush Proves Money Can’t Buy Elections
Jeb Bush spent $100 million, and still missed it by this much![/caption]What can $100 million buy a fella these days? Trick question, of course, because $100 million can buy a whole heck of a lot. However, it can’t buy a Republican presidential nomination. Despite recent developments, the religious shareholder investors over at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility continue their crusade to force panies in which they invest to disclose publicly their donations to political causes and candidates. ICCR’s fears...
O.S.B. – Oh Sacred Business
O.S.B, the abbreviation for the Order of St. Benedict, has taken on nuanced meaning: Oh Sacred Business. This is definitely true of a profitable pany located in Norcia, the medieval birthplace of St. Benedict in central Italy. In just four years, a talented and enterprising team has found the right mix of tradition, vocation and good business sense to take their Birra Nursia brewery to scale. From what was once a micro-production focusing on gift shop and local sales, the...
Five Theses on Environmental Stewardship
Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a panel discussion at Calvin College, hosted by the Paul B. Henry Institute, focusing on challenges facing the next president. The topic of this inaugural panel for the series was “The Environment,” and there was what I thought was a very worthwhile conversation with Jamie Skillen of Calvin’s Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies department, moderated by Micah Watson of Calvin’s political science department. I had the chance to prepare some opening...
How Trump and Sanders Plan to Raise Taxes on the Poor and Working Class
Imagine that a presidential candidate promised to raise taxes on everyone. Under the new proposal, both the wealthy and middle classes would pay more. But as a percentage of a person’s e, the tax increase would disproportionatelyaffect the poor and working class. Now imagine that when many blue collar and working poor hear about this tax proposal they have a strange reaction: they cheer and consider it one of the primary reasons to support the candidate. They believe this deeply...
The dangers of political populism
Reason doesn’t seem to have had a significant influence in the election thus far. Populism, on the other hand, has been having a good run. Despite Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders appealing to very different groups and offering seemingly different platforms, they’re both populists. Acton’s director of research, Samuel Gregg, has noticed a striking similarity between the populist playbook Trump and Sanders use and the rhetoric that Alexander Hamilton spoke out against in the 1780s. Writing for The Stream, Gregg...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved