Want more money — or just more than everyone else? » Family

By Randy Hicks, President of Georgia Family Council

Would you prefer to make twice as much money than you do currently?

Silly question, I know. You’re probably thinking, “Of course. Who wouldn’t?”

Well, believe it or not, apparently there is a high percentage of people who would not want to double their income if it didn’t mean they would be making more than their neighbors.

A recent Harvard University study involving faculty, staff, and students, asked participants to choose between earning $50,000 per year while everyone else earned $25,000, or earning $100,000 per year while others made $200,000. The researchers stipulated that prices of goods and services would be the same in both cases, so a higher salary really meant being able to own a nicer home, buy a nicer car, or do whatever else they wanted with the extra money. But those materialistic perquisites mattered little to most people: 56 percent chose the first option, hypothetically forgoing $50,000 per year simply to maintain a position of relative affluence.

In other words, for the majority of people participating in the survey, making more money than other people was more important than actually being able to buy more and live a more comfortable lifestyle.

Do the results surprise you? The truth is that envy is as old as mankind, and it’s harmful to everyone. Participants of the study who chose to earn half of their possible income just to be considered wealthier than their neighbors have drastically missed the point. Similarly, so have those who call on government to solve income “disparity,” as well as the leaders who promise to do so.

Income disparity is not about me driving a 2000 Camry and my neighbor driving a 2009 Lexus. That is not the government’s responsibility to “fix,” nor is it my business. Expecting our income to be equal to another’s would deny a person the fruits of his labor, based on an arbitrary notion of “fairness.” Because people’s incomes are different does not make it wrong. Most income disparity can be traced to real differences in individuals.

What should matter to the government is the incidence of abject poverty – not having the most basic of needs, such as food and shelter. It should not matter to the government that a friend of mine makes two times or ten times as much as I do.

Yet recently there has been a flood of populist leaders with one short-term goal—to advance their career by appealing to base and destructive human instincts. A politician who elicits envy and resentment from his constituents harms everyone.

Leaders who inspire us have taught Americans not to resent others for what they have. In Abraham Lincoln’s words, they appeal to “the better angels of our nature.”

John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Winston Churchill said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

And President Lincoln said, “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds…”

Americans need leaders who will help channel these reactions into something positive, such as,“I wonder how he made his money? What can I do to be more like that?” Instead, we have those who will pander to the “It’s not fair” sentiment in order to become elected. This empty populism does nothing to help those with less.

And resentment and envy are primarily emotional and spiritual problems in nature—problems government can do nothing to help. The government can only help us materially. But, giving the average person more monetarily does not address the human longing to become and achieve more. By promising its citizens an equal outcome, rather than an equal opportunity, the government prevents everyone from reaching his or her full potential.

Americans seem to understand this concept in sports better than in life. In 2002, Barry Bonds was on an All-Star tour of Japan with other American players. Bonds (steroid accusations aside, is widely considered one of baseballs’ all-time greats) developed a friendship with Angels shortstop David Eckstein, a man very different from himself. Eckstein, who is only 5 feet 7 inches tall, impressed Bonds with his work-ethic, self-discipline and excellent swing. Bonds even asked him for pointers.

“He’s one of my favorite players ever,” Bonds said. “He’s a gift from God. Everything is difficult for him, yet he gets it done and done well.”

Imagine if Major League Baseball, in order to make the game fairer for Eckstein, pulled the fences in closer when he was at bat, and pushed them out farther when Bonds was up. In the pursuit of “fairness,” the system would keep both Eckstein and Bonds from doing their absolute best. By not guaranteeing equal outcomes, the game of baseball allows all players to achieve according to their levels of skill and dedication. This, in turn, creates levels of drama and human achievement that would not be attained if the MLB attempted to guarantee equal outcomes.

Despite knowing this, some politicians want to “pull in the fences” for some and extend them for others. Schools have stopped rewarding high-performing students and coaches are giving trophies to all players, regardless of their talent or industriousness. Americans seem to have forgotten that when you reward achievement, you get more of it; when you discourage it, you get less.

And it is this populist-driven bias against achievement that has led us to demonize successful people rather than praise the character traits that have contributed to their accomplishments.

Americans should be suspicious of those who appeal to our baser instincts, not only because it poisons the public debate, but because it’s toxic to our souls. Rather than obsessing over what others have and we lack, we should be vigilant in assuming responsibility for ourselves, our loved ones and those less fortunate.

Georgia Family Council is a non-profit research and education organization committed to fostering conditions in which individuals, families and communities thrive. For more information, go to www.georgiafamily.org, (770) 242-0001, stephen.daniels@georgiafamily.org.

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