The Rich Man, the Poor Man, and the Politician – a tale of Income Inequality
A story about “income inequality” – and it’s true cause (and possibly solution)
There is a rich man, and a poor man.
The rich man makes $1,000 a day.
The poor man makes $10 a day.
The difference in their income is $1,000 – $10 = $990 a day.
The rich man invests his money and builds a factory.
Now the rich man makes $2,000 a day.
The poor man gets a job at the factory.
Now the poor man makes $100 a day.
The difference in their income is now $2,000 – $100 = $1,900 a day.
A politician decides the ‘income gap’ has grown too large.
He taxes the rich man $1,000 a day, to ‘spread the wealth around.’
The rich man can no longer afford to run the factory.
The factory shuts down. The poor man loses his job.
Everything is as it was before.
And the politician takes credit for ‘closing the income gap.’