Greed, need, and money

Published on January 9, 2008 By Draginol In Politics

Walter Williams has a great column demonstrating some of the myths regarding greed, need, and money.

http://townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2008/01/02/greed,_need_and_money

Comments

Island Dog

on Jan 09, 2008

Great column.

These are points that the republican candidates should be talking about and calling the democrats on.

Jewbu

on Jan 09, 2008

He demonstrates nothing but his ability to be an apologist for superfluous spending and the capitalists who eat as a result. He spins greed by suggesting its a meaningless term, speaks in support of the relativity of need, and of course, adores money. This is the sort of trash I expect of conservatives who only seem to be able to focus on getting more of what they want and keeping what they have...of course at other people's expense.

Be well.

Draginol

on Jan 09, 2008

Oh please Daiho. He is pointing out the common sense truth - people don't work for your benefit. They work for their own benefit.

And how is someone keeping what they have at someone else's expense? Let's say I make $1 million next year net. Right now, about $300,000 of it (roughly) would go to the feds.

If I got a tax cut where I only paid $250,000 to the feds, how is this at "other people's expense"?

To me, the ultimate form of greed is when you get men with guns to steal property from the person who earned that property to give to yourself. That is what government wealth re-distribution is.

But please, Daiho, explain to us evil conservatives precisely how not wanting the government to loot what we produce is greed and that it comes at other people's expense. I really want to hear the rationale that other people I don't know somehow have inherent rights to what I produce.

Dr Guy

on Jan 09, 2008

He demonstrates nothing but his ability to be an apologist for superfluous spending and the capitalists who eat as a result.

I gather you either did not read or understand the column?

As for the column, I loved the last paragraph!

Kaosgirl

on Jan 09, 2008

A CEO doesn't produce anything himself. His decisions facilitate or diminish the production (or value thereof) of others, and he takes a cut of their production in exchange. Is that a fair exchange? In a free-market economy, that's a judgement worked out between him and the folks trading a cut of their production for his guidance. And all the various layers between the two parties.

Government services are arguably the same. The government produces nothing itself; but does provide various services ostensibly to facilitate the security and environment that allows you to produce anything in the first place. Your tax cut, then, results from a reduction in either the quality or scope of those services. Is that a fair exchange? In a democratic nation, it's a judgement call worked out between the voters and their elected representatives.

danielost

on Jan 09, 2008

I believe that brad said that this tax cut helped him hire more employees. so your right the tax cut did hurt someone.

by the way with the tax cut came an increase of tax income. according to gene for every dollar cut the government got 50 cents of new money.

Draginol

on Jan 09, 2008

LOL. Spoken like someone who has no idea what a CEO really does.

By that line of thought, nobody produces anything.

Government services are arguably the same. The government produces nothing itself; but does provide various services ostensibly to facilitate the security and environment that allows you to produce anything in the first place. Your tax cut, then, results from a reduction in either the quality or scope of those services. Is that a fair exchange? In a democratic nation, it's a judgement call worked out between the voters and their elected representatives.

No, government services are not the same. Not even remotely. The amount the CEO makes is based on the voluntary purchasing decisions of the population. By contrast, the government receives its income at the point of a gun.

A CEO's job is to take $1 and turn it into $1+. If he fails to do that, he loses his job. By contrast, the government takes $1 in tax dollars and distributes it.

Tax rates are the balance between the private and the public. But one thing is for sure: the money a person earns is their money. The government does not earn its money, it confiscates it.

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