The “Wealth” Trope

Today listening to the Rush Limbaugh program a caller offered their explanation for the situation in Egypt. The caller’s diagnosis was due entirely to the now widely reported average daily income of a typical Egyptian in dollars. The solution to the problem, as stated by the caller, was the transfer of “the wealth” to the people who needed it. The caller described herself as being at the bottom and took the occasion to veer into a criticism of the President, stating that he does not visit “the hood” and does not “do enough” to transfer “the wealth” in our country where all of its problems, like Egypt
s, could be solved by the transfer of.

I remembered President Obama’s somewhat infamous campaign statement in regard to the transfer of “the wealth” and found it amusing that the caller did not think the President was doing enough even though through his words seems to be on the same page. A page that I cannot even comprehend because of the utter lack of understanding required to believe in this abstract concept of “the wealth” and then to believe that all of the world’s problems are indeed due to this “the wealth” not being spread evenly.

I can sympathize with the caller and anyone who is truly in need. From those who really can’t take care of themselves all the way to those that find themselves in difficult straits due to unfortunate circumstances that are beyond their control. The caller was very passionate, they said as much, and staked their righteousness on that passion. Unfortunately they were completely off-base and quite inappropriate.

Inappropriate in that this caller did not state any qualifications for understanding the needs, wants, desires and dreams of a faraway country. From the news it appears that no one really comprehends the situation in Egypt coherently and with a population of 70 million, it is folly to even pretend that the entirety of their people’s plight can be stated within a single argument. Beyond that, it seems almost certain that the caller has no comprehension of what that loose dollar translation means in Egypt and exactly what kind of life that amount can afford there or even if every person’s needs in that country can be characterized within any currency.

The caller is off-base because they apparently do not recognize the multitude in ways that “the wealth” continues to be transferred within this country. There exists thousands of government programs as the federal and state level that function exactly as the caller desires, many of which concentrate on the hood. Further, the caller’s misunderstanding of wealth and assumption that the government, in this country, creates and manages it demonstrates ignorance.

Much is written about the failure of the war on drugs and its many failures but never is anything mentioned in regard to the much worse failure of the war on poverty. Many scholars have written about the ill effect on communities that many of these wealth transfer programs have. The failure of our education system leading to the idea that passion serves as a substitute for real, actual knowledge is more of a problem than the imaginary hoarders of “the wealth”.