The more control you have over your life, the more responsible you feel for your own success - or failure.
Arthur C. BrooksRead
There is nothing inherently fair about equalizing incomes. If the government penalizes you for working harder than somebody else, that is unfair. If you save your money but retire with the same pension as a free-spending neighbor, that is also unfair.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the fairness of income equality and the implications of penalizing hard work and savings.
Arthur C. Brooks argues that equalizing incomes lacks inherent fairness, particularly when hard work and savings are devalued. He highlights that if individuals are punished for their efforts or if diligent savers are treated the same as spenders, it undermines the principles of merit and personal responsibility, suggesting that a system should reward effort and financial prudence rather than equalizing outcomes indiscriminately.
Themes
FairnessIncomeEffortWorkSavings
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate on economic policies to illustrate the importance of rewarding hard work.
More from Arthur C. Brooks
All quotes →Yes, free markets tend to produce unequal incomes. We should not be ashamed of that. On the contrary, our system is the envy of the world and should be a source of pride.
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