Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Just how rich is too rich?

By Bob Aldrich

Should Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the rest of the 135 American billionaires listed by Forbes Magazine be stopped from making more money? Should there be a cap on economic achievement?

That is the impression one may get from some recent editorial reactions to the growing gap between rich and poor in this country. That the gap has grown in the past decade or so is very true, despite the fact that last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, wages climbed faster than inflation for the first time in six years. Last year the incomes of the very rich swelled, with the average worth of the Forbes 400 rising to $1 billion.

Much of the loss of jobs for average workers in this country has resulted not merely from improved efficiency and consequent "downsizing," but from the fact that U. S. law and policies have made it inviting for corporations to shift their operations to other countries where workers are paid far less. Plants closed in the U. S. are likely to stay closed as long as employers can get the job done at far less cost in Honduras, Puerto Rico or the Far East.

At the same time, American policy has made it easy for foreign businesses, from Japan or Korea for instance, to take advantage of American markets, causing the worst trade imbalance in a dozen years. When was the last time you bought an article of clothing that didn't carry a foreign-made label? Manufacturing jobs have been wiped out by the thousands, as many familiar things, from household items to heavy durable goods are no longer made in the U. S. Concurrently, our Swiss-cheese borders have brought in many thousands of immigrants who take available jobs.

So there is a lot of resentment of the Very Rich, living in luxurious homes inside well-guarded enclaves. The moodily inclined among the left are likely to think of the French Revolution, with aristocrats crushing the peasants beneath their carriage wheels.

But before we roll out the tumbrels and sharpen the guillotine, perhaps we should think seriously of what it means to grow rich and successful in America. We started as a land of opportunity for everyone. Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence spoke of an "unalienable right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." The Constitution does not ensure prosperity; it strives for something like a level playing field, where people can use whatever talents they possess. When the country was no more than two decades old, there was already a disparity between haves and have-nots. The Constitution protects property rights and assures free speech and free assembly; it does not guarantee a magnificent residence and membership in a country club.

Men like Microsoft's Gates, investor Buffett, the Waltons of Walmart and the others on the Forbes list make money for themselves and for others as well. Buffett, for instance, made millionaires of numerous Omaha investors even before he acquired his base company, Berkshire Hathaway. The rich produce millionaires, at least, through the investment opportunities they provide, and directly or indirectly, they provide employment for many more.

Is it written in the Constitution or in any of our laws (so far) that there must be a limit on income honestly earned? Why should the rich not grow richer as long as they pay their share of taxes and do not gain such power over our lawmakers that they rob the rest of us in the process? Theodore Roosevelt taught us to guard against "the Trusts."

The solution to the widening income gap must be for government, meaning especially the Congress, to ensure that the average middle-class worker not be shut out from economic opportunity. The lobbying influence of giant corporations, many operating in other lands, should be balanced with legislation that lessens the middle-class tax burden and opens more attractive opportunities for companies to invest at home. The solution is not to give up our liberties in exchange for some form of Utopian socialism disguised as democratic reform. The right of the people to grow rich must be preserved.

Bob Aldrich is a Los Gatos Weekly-Times columnist and feature writer.