Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Distribution of Wealth (Part VII)



Here are some miscellaneous points to consider on the distribution of wealth that emphasize the state's role in encouraging an increasingly inequitable distribution of wealth:

1. In addition to creating general monetary inflation, the state has undertaken policies that has encouraged the rise in prices in several key sectors. For example, most economists and hunger-advocates are in agreement that ethanol subsidies has contributed to a rise in food prices that have been most heavily felt by the poor.

2. Many government subsidies accelerate the process of concentrating wealth in fewer hands. For example, agricultural subsidies overwhelmingly go to larger corporate farms, which has aided them in buying out smaller family farms.

3. The recent Bushbama bailouts - they most definitely equalled a transference of wealth from productive smaller businesses and families to connected corporate interests.

4. Historically, many larger corporate interests have supported increased regulation, because they realize that many of their smaller competitors will not be able to bear the cost of regulatory compliance.

5. It appears as if the sectors of the economy that the state has most heavily intervened in, such as housing, health care and higher education, have seen the highest rises in cost, much to the detriment of the public. I am not an economist, so I cannot fully explain the mechanisms at work, but I am certain that as the state presence has increased so has the costs.

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