Meadows on Rich and Poor

* Re “The Least of These Our Brethren,” Column Left, Dec. 22:

Donella Meadows’ silly, sophomoric diatribe trumpeting redistribution of the wealth has a fundamental flaw in common with the far more sophisticated but equally wrong-headed philosophy of her soul brother, Karl Marx. They both forgot about the concept of risk and return, which is crucial to the creation of new wealth. Without the possibility of big returns, capital will not be invested. If capital is not invested, jobs will not be created, and more rather than fewer people will be poor. Governments are completely inept as replacement entrepreneurs. Such diverse countries as Russia and England have proven the truth of this axiom during the past few decades.

Meadows also misses the fact that the rich (and not-so-rich) are now in 50% tax brackets with no truly effective tax shelters left. Thus, limiting their income will have a major negative effect on tax revenue, again thwarting her intended result. The U.S. has created more wealth for more of its population than any nation in history precisely because it has eschewed the flawed principles that Meadows espouses; we would have done even better if it were not for the level of redistributionary taxation we have had, with rare exception, since the 1940s.

J. PETER RICH

Los Angeles