Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

The reason the egalitarians are always prattling on about “income inequality” rather that “wealth inequality” is that the poster-child income inequality nations, such as Sweden and the Netherlands with high taxation on income, have higher wealth inequality than the U.S. In fact, the Netherlands, normally associated with extensive socialism, is the nation with the most wealth inequality. Interestingly, the Netherlands also pioneered Capitalism 4-centuries ago with the Dutch East India Trading company: stock market, limited-liability corporations & insurance; so Capitalism is mature there. How this disparity happened is that the Netherlands is aristocratic, including low inheritance taxes, and dynastic-type estates where only one heir takes all the family fortune into the next generation. Exacerbating the situation, many people have negative equity in their homes because of intentional underwater mortgages to escape the high income taxes. If there was a choice between the two, wealth inequality is arguably worse than income inequality because it inhibits liberty which is based on meritocracy, the opposite of aristocracy.