Are The Rich Necessary Analysis

Are the Rich Necessary by Hunter Lewis explains some economic arguments and how they reflect personal values. I have picked two chapters from the book that explain why or why not, we need the rich. I will first describe some theory’s in chapter four that assert the reasons behind the rich not being prevalent to our society. In chapter four, Hunter Lewis begins by describing how a large scale human society has never achieved such a thing as not having rich people. Having said this, it is almost impossible to not have some sort of class that is wealthier than others. That is why equalitarians argue that we should tax the rich heavily to help the poor. His first argument shares a quote of a young student worker slaving away in the hot sun as a farmhand as his rich boss sits looking over all the workers in his air-conditioned car. Even though the workers in the field are doing hard labor and most of the work, they are barely able to pay bills. Meanwhile their boss, who does no physical labor, gets all the profit. A very unfair situation indeed. Hunter’s second argument states that “Without rich people, there would be no poor people”. He gives the example of how if the top one percent of American earners gave half of their income to the poor, there would be no poverty as defined by the government in America. Mr. Lewis’ last …show more content…
However, from what I have read by Hunter Lewis, I believe the rich are necessary. Not only would it be immoral to take their money from them to help the poor, but it would ultimately damage the economy. Rich people also pay taxes and invest into the economy creating money flow and jobs. Although, I think rich people should be encouraged to donate money to the poor (which the majority do), I don’t see how we can live in a society absent of rich people without taking away their