Income Redistribution in Socialist Absurdia

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 215

Income Redistribution in Socialist Absurdia Share Tweet Forward

The Emperor of Absurdia is a children’s book by Chris Riddell where, in the strange land of Absurdia, nothing is quite what it seems. Absurdiais a fitting allegory for the absurdities of socialist ideology of which “income redistribution” is a revered prince. To begin with, in Absurdia we are taught to look at the wrong income statistics. Yes, it is true that, in terms of statistical categories, the rich have seen greater gains in income, and a growing share of incomes. This has widened the income gap between the top and bottom income groups. But, as pointed out by economist and columnist Thomas Sowell, this confuses what happens in statistical categories with what actually happens with you and me as real people. Incongruently, the income redistribution discussions in Absurdia are structured in human terms yet, the evidence offered is in statistical categories. These categories conceal what actually happens with people who, over time, move from one income category to another. When we look at data that tracks specific individuals, such as tax returns, the picture is quite different. For example, in terms of people, and not statistical categories, the incomes of particular taxpayers who were in the bottom 20 percent of income in 1996 rose 91 percent by 2005, while the incomes of those particular taxpayers who were in the top 20 percent in that year rose only by 10 percent by 2005.  These human data does not fit the “rich are getting richer and the poor poorer” narrative. These seemingly conflicting statistics need not be a mystery. It is simply that, over time, people move between statistical categories. Taxpayers in the lowest income bracket in 2005 saw their income nearly double in 9 years. This moved many of them up, and out of that bottom quintile. Tax return data follows people, while Census Bureau data follows statistical categories, but it is not the same individuals in those categories. What happens to income categories is not the same as what happens to people. Professor Sowell tells us what should be obvious.  Most of us begin our working careers at entry-level salaries in the bottom statistical quintile, and younger workers are disproportionately represented in this lower income category. As we acquire more skills and experience, our income increases and we move into higher income brackets. This is a common pattern, and I am sure every one of my readers can, from personal experience, attest to its validity. More than three-quarters of those working Americans whose incomes were in the bottom 20 percent in 1975 had moved into the top 40 percent of income earners by 1991. Only 5 percent of those initially in the bottom 20 percent were still there in 1991. We need to be more concerned with the income of people than with statistical income categories. Robert Nozick, in his 1974 book “Anarchy, State, and Utopia, makes the point that philosophies of income redistribution are incompatible with liberty.  Our natural endowments of talent break no law, and do not violate anyone’s rights. In order to impose any income distribution pattern,  Absurdia’s socialist government has to continually interfere with our freedoms. Nozick notes that the very term “income distribution” is a prejudiced expression that implies that some force (Providence, government, the market system, etc.) made a mistake distributing income. If income is acquired by unjust means, clearly we are not entitled and a rectification is called for. But, if income is acquired justly, what exactly is the principle under which our justly acquired income is to be redistributed? We all want to live in a just society, but a distribution of income mandated by government breaks the ethical connection between what we produce and what we consume.  Justice is not served by some artificial distributive concept that disconnects income from productivity.   Justice must underscore principles of how the income distribution comes about. The income redistribution of Absurdia can only be accomplished by continuously violating our liberties. And, as Immanuel Kant taught, individuals are ends, and not instruments to be used for the purposes of others. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would recommend its reading to politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With this book Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería lectura obligatoria de todos los estudiantes, tanto de bachillerato como universitarios, pero, además, se la recomendaría a todos los políticos y periodistas, a todos los policy makers. Azel logra con este libro lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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