Power to the poor

There’s been a lot of hand wringing, rending of garments and gnashing of teeth over the $400 million retirement package for Exxon/Mobil’s CEO Lee Raymond.  People who should know better are lamenting Mr. Raymond’s windfall as evidence of the immorality of “big oil” and the excess of capitalism.  There are calls for boycotts of Exxon/Mobil products and crying over the lost opportunity to distribute all that money so it will do more good for more people.  One member of the Dallas Morning News editorial board says the windfall is immoral and that we could buy over 400 air conditioners with one day of Mr. Raymond’s salary.  The point he is missing is that said salary is Mr. Raymond’s and is not in play to be redistributed by anyone.  This is the USA not the USSR…so far.

The only immorality I see is the envy that drives those calling for the confiscation of private wealth to redistribute.  None of those clamoring for the state sanctioned theft of Mr. Raymond’s assets can tell me where their claim on his wealth comes from and who decides who gets what?  How much is too much?  One person suggested Mr. Raymond only get $100 million and the other money be given to other employees in the company, at least distribute the money left over after everyone who wants an air conditioner gets one.   But why $100 million?  Couldn’t that money be put into paying teachers more or buying used cars so the working poor could drive to work?  Why not reduce Mr. Raymond’s take to $50 million, 25, 10, 1…shoot $1 million is a lot of money.  How about we don’t give him anything, just put him in line for that coveted new air conditioner?

The problem with all this generosity with other people’s wealth is that if there is no incentive for high achievers to make money; why would they?  There used to be a joke in the old Soviet Union...”the state pretends to pay us and we pretend to work.”  What makes anyone think that the $400 million in wealth would ever be produced if no one is allowed to take it home with them?  You can’t redistribute what doesn’t exist and if there are no wealthy people there will be no wealth.  The cause of poverty is not rich people it is the suppression of wealth and wealth creation.  If you want more poor people the quickest way is to reduce the number of people who produce wealth, goods and jobs.  If you want more prosperity, get government out of the way and allow the creation of rich people.  When I see the social justice crowd demanding that the government confiscate more of our money, I have to wonder what they are counting on when the money runs out.

All government runs on tax revenue.  Tax revenue is a drain on national wealth.  Government produces nothing, it only consumes.  When it isn’t directly consuming tax revenues through things like the Post Office it is indirectly consuming wealth through entitlement programs which take money from producers and gives it over to non-producers.  We can have the debate about the necessity of Medicare and Medicaid but we should not mistake it for anything other than the consumption of the nation’s wealth.  All wealth is produced in the private sector and belongs….is owned by…those who produced it.  The government enjoys a parasitical relationship with the free market.  Lee Raymond is a player in the free market and if that market wants to give him $400 million or $6 trillion dollars of their money, it is nobody’s business but the stockholder and the board of directors.  Those hankering for that new air conditioner have no stake in it.  They should get their air conditioners the old fashioned way, by earning them.

So what is the solution of the class envy warlords?  People like Bill O’Reilly?  Boycott Exxon/Mobil.  Hey that’s a good idea, punish prosperity.  Lower the amount of money going to Exxon/Mobil…get some low level people laid off.  Actually that would probably force them to upgrade their technologies, lower the cost of producing their gasoline and cause their profits to soar.  Maybe the next CEO would be amply rewarded to reflect his worth to the stockholders.