God Bless Income Inequality

This article contains a post that makes the case for income inequality. It is a variation on a common theme that argues that without inequality there would be no motivation to work hard. Everyone agrees that perfect inequality would not work. The question then becomes one of drawing a line, and whether a progressive tax system should be used to prevent the development of an oligarchy that has the potential to undermine the democratic state that provides the infrastructure for success and mobility. I have often wondered how the military has been so successful with its compensation system. There are rewards throughout the system to encourage effort and support for the missions of the organization. The pay system also provides financial reward for moving up in rank. The system produces income inequality but it does not compare with the inequality that one finds in the private economy. It would seem that organizations can be successful without the degree of inequality that some argue for. Its also possible that the kind of people that are motivated entirely by the chance to become a billionaire are not the kind of people that are best for the organization that spawns them. We have seen lots of recent examples where such individuals put their own success above that of the organization that made their success possible. It seems to me that America worked very well for 40 years after WW II when there was greater equality than there was in the periods leading up to the Great Depression and the Great Recession.