Inequality Measures Promote Socialism, Income Redistribution, Continual Taxation Of The Rich: Comment To WSJ Book Review

My published comment to The Wall Street Journal, Books & Arts, "‘The Myth of American Inequality’ Review: Believe Your Eyes, Not the Statistics: Official government measures greatly exaggerate income inequality by ignoring taxation and noncash sources of income." by Charles W. Calomiris:

Inequality is not poverty. An inequality statistic does not measure the standard of living of those in the bottom rungs of the income distribution. It measures the income gap between the rich and those with lower incomes. Instead of calling it an inequality measure, it should be called an envy measure. Inequality compares an owner of a 4 year old Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Subaru against an owner of a new top of the line Tesla, BMW, Mercedes. It compares a renter of a modest apartment or owner of a modest size condo or home against a multi million dollar mansion. Inequality measures promote socialism, income redistribution and continual taxation of the rich, but fails to measure the needs and standard of living (consumption) of those in a lower quintile or decile.