Don't blame rich for every problem

IT IS GETTING to be a habit to see some Globe writers and letter writers address many of our nation's economic failures by attacking the rich.

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Recently, it was our lack of funds for international food relief that was blamed on President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy but, in the past, Social Security, health care, and public education have all been "fixed" by proposals to increase taxes on the wealthy.

The unwritten sentiment of many such proposals, barely disguised, is that the wealthy have received from society far more than they are willing to give back and that extreme wealth is a sign of either luck, family connections, or criminality rather than intelligence, hard work, sacrifice, and a resolute and unwavering belief in an idea.

As difficult as it is for some to believe, wealth is no more an indicator of moral weakness than poverty is an indicator of virtue and saintliness.

I have always felt that the only fundamental foundation from which a society can hope to deliver the human necessities of education, housing, health care, and food is through the fostering of a prosperous and stable economy.

It is offensive when people blame our country's situations on the lazy and the poor, but I must admit that I feel no better when others postulate that it is the capitalists, corporations, and entrepreneurs that are the cause of our economic woes and shortcomings.

DAVID JONAS
Dighton