John Stossel‘s latest column at Human Events takes aim at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ misguided economic views.
A big reason for Sanders’ appeal is his relentless criticism of America’s wealth gap. His “solutions” include raising the federal minimum wage to $15, completing the government takeover of healthcare, mandating paid maternity leave, punishing bankers, expanding Social Security and spending more on job training.
We must do these things, he says, because “wealth is centered in the hands of a very few.” He accuses Republicans of preferring it that way.
That’s a common refrain on the left, and it appeals to many voters. Some poor people think they’ll be helped by “redistribution,” and rich people who don’t understand the process that made them rich want more rules to “level the playing field.”
I wish someone would educate them and ask Clinton, “What’s wrong with ‘record profits’? What do you think happens to that money? Greedy executives just sit on it? No! Profit is reinvested in ways that make all of us better off!”
Libertarians and real free-marketers agree that too few people are rich but understand that today it’s largely because of government.
The minimum wage laws that Sanders likes decrease the odds that people on the bottom rung will get hired and learn the basics of being a good employee. Other laws make it harder for them to move up.
Today’s thicket of regulations means entrepreneurs must hire lawyers and “fixers” to get anything done, and those middlemen cost money.
Not a big problem if you’re already rich, but a big obstacle if you’re just starting out, or trying to expand a small business.
