Michael Tanner on Income Inequality and Democracy

Read the article Here.
Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, seeks to mitigate  concern over income inequality in the article “Five Myths about Economic Inequality.” Tanner’s fifth and final perceived myth he addresses in the article is directly related to the discussion about income inequality and democracy. In Tanner’s fifth myth that income inequality distorts political processes, as Madland argues, Tanner says that big government is what exacerbates income inequality and government involvement is the cause of cronyism, not simply income inequality itself.

“It may be reasonable to say, therefore, that far from being the enemy of inequality, big government can actually be an engine, or at least an accomplice, to greater inequality. It is not that inequality tilts the political playing field so much as it is that government provides the mechanism through which inequality can flourish.”

“Moreover, while many wealthy individuals are politically active, that activism is often offset by groups that represent lower-income individuals, or groups whose politics cut across the socioeconomic spectrum. For example, 14 of the top 25 spenders during the 2012 election were unions, which ostensibly advocate for the working class.”

The study of election spending can be found Here.