NEWSFLASH! THE POOR ARE THRIVING!

[Source: "The rich - and poor - are getting richer," David Henderson, The Red Herring, 8/97]

"Some people think it's unfair that income is distributed so unequally. But in a free society, income is not distributed. We get our income (gifts aside) the old-fashioned way: We earn it."

"Set up incentives so that when welfare recipients earn a work dollar they lose a welfare dollar, and many of them won't bother earning any income (or won't bother to report it)."

"But tell them credibly that their welfare will end soon, or kick them off, and they'll come up with ways of earning a living."

"The government could make it easier for them by ending the minimum wage, which prices low-skilled workers out of the market,...

"...and [the gov't could make it easier for them] by ending other government-imposed rules that prohibit them from owning taxicabs, dressing hair, cutting down trees, selling food out of kiosks, and doing other productive work."