At a social gathering last night, I found myself in a conversation with two Paul Krugman fans who were asserting that the biggest problem in America is the economic distance between the rich and the middle class. They were in favor of heavy taxes on the wealthy to create more equality.
Rather than even trying to provide them with some elementary economics and to explain that wealth is not a zero-sum game, I decided to be provocative. "We should be thankful and appreciative of the wealthy," I declared. "Not only do they pay most of the taxes for everyone else, and employ lots of people, but, for every wealthy family, that is one less family to grow dependent on government services."
My comments fell flat. Need I mention that these people were highly-educated professional upper-middle class people?
Then, at this same gathering, an old friend showed me a photo of himself with his mother from 1941. He was in his Army uniform in the photo. At 6'2, he had lied about his age to get into the Army. He told me that he had been given a five-day leave over Christmas. "I didn't see her again for two and a half years." He fought in the Battle of the Bulge at age 17.
He is a family doctor, working full-time at age 83.
