KnobbyWalsh
WTF?
Reading tonight in a book that covered early American economic history that Thomas Jefferson wrote, and Alexis de Tocqueville confirmed during his visit to America how egalitarian early America was. Jefferson mused that in terms of "wealth" and quality of life, not much separated anyone and those who were considered "wealthy" like him were not even close to being wealthy compared to the European landed aristocrats.
A couple quotes:
Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions. (Democracy in America)
- Alexis De Tocqueville (1831)
I am conscious that an equal division of property is impracticable. But the consequences of this enormous inequality producing so much misery to the bulk of mankind, legislators cannot invent too many devices for subdividing property, only taking care to let their subdivisions go hand in hand with the natural affections of the human mind. Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the higher portions of property in geometrical progression as they rise. Whenever there is in any country, uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on.
- Thomas Jefferson, (Founding Father)
Economies evolve. Never in our history - with the Post WW II example being the second best example of the masses prospering - was our country more profitable on the large scale as was our early post-Colonial ancestors. The general laborer then lived like kings compared to what they left behind in England and greater Europe. Opportunity was real. And again, the "wealthy" of the time like Jefferson and others - even southern slave owning plantation masters - were not even in the same league as European aristocrats.
A couple quotes:
Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions. (Democracy in America)
- Alexis De Tocqueville (1831)
I am conscious that an equal division of property is impracticable. But the consequences of this enormous inequality producing so much misery to the bulk of mankind, legislators cannot invent too many devices for subdividing property, only taking care to let their subdivisions go hand in hand with the natural affections of the human mind. Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the higher portions of property in geometrical progression as they rise. Whenever there is in any country, uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on.
- Thomas Jefferson, (Founding Father)
Economies evolve. Never in our history - with the Post WW II example being the second best example of the masses prospering - was our country more profitable on the large scale as was our early post-Colonial ancestors. The general laborer then lived like kings compared to what they left behind in England and greater Europe. Opportunity was real. And again, the "wealthy" of the time like Jefferson and others - even southern slave owning plantation masters - were not even in the same league as European aristocrats.
