Wealth is not some mystical entity which either government or birthright endows. It isn’t something that the “haves” enjoy by depriving the “have nots” of their fair share. Wealth represents the accumulation of the results of labor.
Debate
It is amazing the topic raises debate actually, but it does. The concept is not new. One’s perception of wealth is the assumption upon which the basis of political thought and action rests. That is the reason it doesn’t fall from the realm of debate. Perhaps it is time to move past viewing the wealth of others, which is envy. Maybe we should start thinking in terms of taking responsibility for ensuring we and ours have enough.
Government
Money is a representation for or a symbol of wealth. Money makes it easier to exchange goods and services. Governments do not create wealth. Wealth has never been the creation of government. Creation of wealth is not within the capacity of Government.
The government can only spend it and controls its regulation. The meaning of regulate is; make standard monetary units by coining or printing money. Each unit of money is intended to represent a result of a unit of labor. That unit can be exchanged for the results of someone else’s labor.
One large and often repeated problem is that governments don’t take this responsibility seriously. They mess with the money supply, minting more money, which results in inflation. They also change reserve requirements of banks through regulatory action. Inflation is the result of adding more money without adding more goods and services. What happens then is that each monetary unit represents less work.
Conclusion
Wealth represents the accumulation of the results of labor. Can we accept this information as commonly agreed and true? If we could, we might apply it to understand what is happening in the American government today.