Government 1B Lesson 15: In your opinion, does the state have the right to redistribute wealth from some people to others? Why or why not?

The way I understand this question is in general terms. Does the state (in general) have a right to redistribute wealth from some people to others?

Let’s think about this, to redistribute something it means to relocate someone’s hard earned income and give it to other people who don’t have much such as the poor bums on the streets. For a second this sounds like a great idea, but if you think about it, you’re taking (by force taking) someone’s money and giving to those in need like the poor bums out on the streets. By this, people thought of achieving greater social equality.

However, this sounds like theft to me and many others could agree with me. The state shouldn’t be just taking someone’s money that they worked very hard for and giving it to those that don’t wish to work for anything and be expected to get paid just so that everyone’s equal. Everyone has to work for something and it just so happens that some people get paid more/have greater income than others do. Those that get greater income simply work harder and they deserve the success because they’ve worked for it.

Those bums on the streets live the way they do, because they choose to. I understand there’s homeless people due to loss of jobs, that’s understandable, that’s life, but it doesn’t mean you should suddenly stop working. You are still able to get yourself a job and start over again. If those bums get income from the state and don’t work at all, they don’t deserve the money (let alone from someone who worked hard for it) and therefore this makes things unfair instead of achieving social equality.

Thanks for reading this essay. I hope you liked it or learned something new! I’ll be posting more soon and have a great rest of your day!