William Watson (9)

In this book, William Watson argues that inequality, in and of itself, is not a problem we should focus on. He especially takes issue with Thomas Piketty's assertion that wealth should be subject to a special tax. For Mr. Watson, there are many paths to wealth -- some are good for society has a whole (e.g., Steve Jobs who made products many people benefit from); some are bad (e.g. gains made illegally) and some are neutral (e.g. a lottery winner). Society can, and does, take action against illegal actions. For Mr. Watson, there is no issue with other inequalities. Instead, he argues we should focus on addressing poverty. Overall, I think his message is right on.

There are things he said, though, that offended my sensibilities, including stigmatizing divorce if children are involved, teaching the poor to dress and talk like the rich, and his ideas of the state educating very young children whose parents aren't "fit" brings memories of my time dealing with the results of Indian Residential Schools.

And there were times when I simply didn't understand his logic. He says that, when everyone stands on tiptoe, no one sees any better. Except our author, apparently because he is six-foot-six and his height is mainly in his legs. What? Wouldn't the length of his toes be more relevant?

The book was written in 2015 and is already dated as new policy tools have been implemented since the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Justin Trudeau in Canada. But the basic argument of removing the simple negative characteristic of all inequality stands.… (mais)