PKT message, Re: Income distribution

As Churchill (I think) was supposed to have said, people in a democratic society get the kind of government they deserve. One approach to the income distribution problem is to do all that one can to try to make what we loosely call democracy work for the public as a whole, and not mainly for a few. I don't know an alternative other than revolution

Harry

----- Original Message -----

From: Brett Haselton

To: Harry L. Cook ; Post Keynesian

Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 2:40 PM

Subject: RE: Income distribution

As I have suggested many times, though we may be able to learn from the dead, we must also take the initiative to develop new methods for solving problems.

There is no cure for the income distribution problem.. The rich do not want to give it up. The poor don't have anything to give up/get. The only one getting richer in this modern redistribution is the govt.

-----Original Message-----
From: pkt-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pkt-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Harry L. Cook
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 11:17 AM
To: Post Keynesian
Subject: Income distribution

With referance to income distribution.   Income distribution is a matter of politics and ideology at least as much as it is economics.  Restricting discussion of economics in general, or income distribution in particular, to economic theory and methodology may make for intellectually amusing intercourse, but it is about as useful as doing the cross word puzzles.

Income distribution is largely determined by the interplay of politics and economics within the framework of our political economy. Our system may be, and is, a lot better that many other systems, but it can be argued that it has a long way to go to achieve satisfactory standards of fairness and justice.

The problem is the system - the framework of political and economic institutions that is our political economy- and unless we understand it, how it works and what makes it like it is, we can't fix it.

It seems to me that this is less methodology than plain common sense and common observation, besides I am suggesting specifically that we pay some attention what David Ricardo in the opening lines of his Principles of Political Economy said was the principal problem in political economy, namely income distribution.



                                            Harry L. Cook