, Columnist
Why Sacrifices by the Rich Won't Fix Social Welfare
Redistribution plans are based on flawed ideas about political preferences.
How many disability checks is that?
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Perhaps the most common policy argument I see is that the government ought to channel more resources to lower-income Americans, and finance this transfer by raising taxes on the wealthy. This argument is seductive, because so often it seems that spending by the wealthy just isn’t that important -- did you read about the recent luxury handbag auction at Christie’s? Yet the transfer argument rests on flawed premises. Namely, it doesn’t compare the proposed policies -- such as a boost to food stamps, disability payments or lead abatement -- to the best possible alternatives.
To see the problem, let’s say we ranked a bunch of general alternatives from best to worst: