Redistribution? It's the System

George Will (right) is bellowing today about the current edition of "redistribution of wealth" as if it's new. He might look at history and he doesn't have to go far back. Think Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower; then Kennedy and Johnson; Nixon and Ford; Carter, who was preoccupied and didn't get to do much redistribution; Reagan and two Bushes with a Clinton among them to slow, but hardly stop, the upward movement of money.

"Redistribution of wealth" is the norm for our government, and depending on the philosophy of the party in power it's redistributed upward, downward or toward the middle. Republicans, of course, want money flowing toward the top one percent, insisting that it will "trickle down," leaving crumbs for the huddling masses. Dems (and others of us on the left) prefer to have government control as much of the wealth as possible, doling it out to those in need first, then those with ideas to increase employment and pay/benefit ratios. We'd also like to see health care and education among those "inalienable rights."

I have no idea why the right howls so mightily any time a president on the left makes his move to move from rich to poor and middle income the money many of them earn. Disagree all you want, but don't act so damn surprised. That's the system, boys.