OPINION:
Contrary to popular thinking on the political left, inequality can be good (Obama’s odd sense of fairness,” Commentary, Tuesday). It’s good, for example, when it serves as a corrective to bad choices and destructive behaviors.
If the economic disparity between two individuals occurs because one decides to finish school, work hard and delay gratification while the other does the opposite, the inequality the two people are likely to experience in life can serve as a road map for others as to which behaviors lead to prosperity and which do not.
But the president’s simplistic talk of fairness and equality make no such distinctions. His policies will serve to mitigate the consequences of bad choices, and he will force those who have sacrificed and worked hard to subsidize those who have engaged in behaviors that lead to poverty and despair. Mr. Obama wants to subsidize failure while trying to convince Americans that he is both compassionate and virtuous for doing so.
Equality is important, but our government should concern itself only with ensuring that our laws are equally applied and enforced and that everyone has an equal shot at success. The president’s everyone-gets-a trophy mentality may work in pee-wee sports, but in the real world, some people work hard for that trophy while others do not. Treating those groups equally is both foolhardy and immoral, for it removes the consequences from bad choices and encourages behaviors that healthy societies should avoid.
THOMAS M. BEATTIE
Mount Vernon
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