Smart economic policy should aim not only to reduce inequality, but also to steer resources toward productive forms of wealth creation, while limiting less productive forms. And, because inheriting money does little to stimulate growth, an attractive set of measures are estate and inheritance taxes.
WASHINGTON, DC – According to conventional wisdom, inequality is an inevitable byproduct of strong economic growth. Talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship will inevitably capture the lion’s share of the income being generated, and efforts to redistribute wealth can only be counterproductive, because they weaken the incentives that drive an economy forward.
The truth, of course, is more complicated. Not all sources of wealth – and by extension not all types of inequality – are the same. The wealth that is created when new products, processes, and technologies are introduced is, indeed, correlated with faster economic growth. But wealth obtained by other means has a much smaller effect, if any, on the economy. So there is no reason it cannot be safely redistributed.
Consider, for example, the rise of a billionaire class, which many think represents the most extreme form of inequality. There are, essentially, four paths to becoming a billionaire. Company founders and executives, like Bill Gates and Jack Ma, became rich by providing useful products and services. Financial wizards, like George Soros and Warren Buffet, generated their wealth through smart investments.
WASHINGTON, DC – According to conventional wisdom, inequality is an inevitable byproduct of strong economic growth. Talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship will inevitably capture the lion’s share of the income being generated, and efforts to redistribute wealth can only be counterproductive, because they weaken the incentives that drive an economy forward.
The truth, of course, is more complicated. Not all sources of wealth – and by extension not all types of inequality – are the same. The wealth that is created when new products, processes, and technologies are introduced is, indeed, correlated with faster economic growth. But wealth obtained by other means has a much smaller effect, if any, on the economy. So there is no reason it cannot be safely redistributed.
Consider, for example, the rise of a billionaire class, which many think represents the most extreme form of inequality. There are, essentially, four paths to becoming a billionaire. Company founders and executives, like Bill Gates and Jack Ma, became rich by providing useful products and services. Financial wizards, like George Soros and Warren Buffet, generated their wealth through smart investments.