Legal theft

Walter Williams:

Edgar K. Browning, a professor of economics at Texas A&M University, has a new book aptly titled "Stealing From Each Other." Its subtitle, "How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit," goes to the heart of what the book is about: The rise of equalitarian ideology has driven Americans to steal from one another.

Browning notes certain kinds of equality have been a cherished value in America. Equality under the law and, within reason, equality of opportunity is consistent with a free society. Equality of results is an anathema to a free society, and within it lie the seeds of tyranny...

So what's Browning's solution? First, he reminds us of the biblical admonition "Thou shalt not steal." Redistribution programs produce the same result as theft. In fact, that's what a thief does: He redistributes income. The difference between government and thievery is mostly a matter of legality.