Redistribution

This past week in school the students were given an assignment to answer the question, what is happiness. As part of the task they were asked to list ten important things they use every day and then cut that list in half and then eliminate three more items and finally to choose one of the last two as the most important thing. I propose a similar test for the rest of us. I will list ten important things. Adequate nutritious food at reasonable cost. Comfortable safe place to live. A job that I like that pays a living wage. Proper health care. An education system that allows for training for life. A secure retirement for seniors. Clean air and water for all. Protection from enemies both foreign and domestic. Opportunities for upward growth. Safety net for those who are disabled or in need. Now your job is to recognize that we live in a world of limited resources and you must begin to cut. It is not reasonable to cut one whole category but to trim some cost from each area. Each person’s list will have different priorities but most people will fall back on the old Marxist concept of redistribution called,” from each according to his means to each according to his needs”.