Wealth and poverty

To the Raleigh News & Observer

In her article “Rethinking welfare – again,” Felicia Kornbluh states that “[John K.] Galbraith and [Milton] Friedman knew that our economy creates wealth and poverty at the same time.” This is a seriously flawed view of the economy with which I am sure Milton Friedman would not agree.

The natural state of man is poverty, and only through production and trade does man create wealth. The “economy” creates nothing and is just an abstraction of individuals engaging in those activities. To truly fight poverty we must encourage new wealth creation, not confiscate existing wealth from its creators for redistribution.