The media are constantly wringing their hands over the increasing disparity between the rich and poor. Is this as bad as they make it out to be, or are they exaggerating the situation?
If it is as bad as they claim, what do you think is the cause?
Thank you,
Bruce B.
Dear Bruce,
Thank you for a very pertinent letter. Let’s start with your last seven words, “What do you think is the cause?”
Imagine if you would, two young guys, Andrew and Zach. They are both eighteen years old but that is the only thing they share. Andrew has spent most of the last year infatuated with a girl. Actually, many girls, each one a successor to the previous, each a part of an endless series of short-term relationships. When he’s not with a girl whose name he can barely remember, he plays video games and smokes weed. We know this reads like a bit of a caricature, but we did say “imagine.” Andrew gets by with some money from the government. A local social worker helped him with the application paperwork. It’s a free country so Andrew has the right to his chosen lifestyle without outside interference.
Now let’s see what Zach has been doing. Zach got a job working as an assistant to a plumber. Due to his diligence, Zach got a raise or two and then his boss advised him to sign on as an official apprentice and to take a few courses at his local community college. It’s a free country so Zach can also do exactly as he wishes.
Five years elapse and it is time for us to revisit Andrew and Zach. It’s not hard to extend our imagination within the framework of probably reality. Andrew is sharing a two-bedroom one bath apartment with three other video gaming buddies and has to search for money to fill up his clunker of a car when he occasionally goes out seeking menial work.
As for Zach, he is living in a small single-family home that he and his wife purchased. He is now a fully licensed plumber and is earning $65,000 a year.
Another five years go by. Andrew is a 28-year-old lonely poor man with a negative net worth due to his out-of-control credit card debt. Zach has a young family, a business and has a net worth of over $300,000.
One of the most important characteristics of Left-Wing Progressives is that they view life as a sequence of still photographs whereas Happy Warriors see life more accurately as a video.
As you wrote, the media, reliably Left-Wing Progressive, is indeed wringing its hands about the economic disparity between Andrew and Zach. What is to be done?
(i) Confiscate by force part of Zach’s earnings each month and give it to Andrew.
(ii) Leave things as they are and hope that if Andrew has children, they learn to live not like their father did but more like his old friend Zach did.
For a society that values freedom, there are no other choices.
We appreciated your letter for another reason too. It solved a dilemma for us. We have many Ask the Rabbi questions waiting for our attention, but on the eve of a consequential American election we questioned if we were putting our heads in the sand by discussing a marriage conflict or a question about what to do when a friend is doing something wrong. On the other hand, we didn’t want to turn this column into a political plea.
Your question allows us to highlight one of the main differences in political parties today, and not only in America. Are rich people rich because they force poor people to be poor or are wealth and poverty largely the result of the choices people make?
Ancient Jewish wisdom doesn’t answer these questions with a yes or a no. The Bible is replete with warnings about not oppressing those who are poor, about dealing charitably with those who are poor, and about giving a helping hand to those who are poor. At the same time, there is absolutely no suggestion that wealth should be redistributed by society or that there should be a mechanism for ensuring that everyone earns equally.
The Bible emphasizes the unique qualities and choices of individuals and the importance of respecting the different paths people take and where those paths lead them. As different life paths produce very different results, we hope that people gradually learn what works well and what leads to failure. We elaborate on these ideas in our Financial Prosperity Collection and our financial books.
In the United States, we have veered far from an ideal system of ethical capitalism. The government and some businesses like the medical/pharmaceutical industry have in many ways partnered in corrupt schemes that do enrich some at the expense of others. The government has also done much to separate effort and hard work from the outcome of enjoying the fruits of one’s labor.
What would we like to see? The same thing that we believe would lead to less violence and crime and towards more marriage and children – a return to the Judeo-Christian values on which the United States was founded and a turning of citizens’ hearts to their Heavenly Father.
Vote wisely,
Rabbi Daniel and Susan Lapin
What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this Ask the Rabbi & Susan post.
We Happy Warrior members can both read and write comments HERE.
Not a member yet? Ask the Rabbi is a reader-supported publication.
We truly appreciate those of you who sign up for a Basic membership. This lets us know we are providing value to you.
