‘In the Shadow of 1937′

John Batchelor’s column agonizes that today we are in much the same position as in 1937, when the richest 1% of Americans were far above the average citizen in assets and earnings [Oped, “In the Shadow of 1937,” December 26, 2006] . Yet economists, such as Thomas Sowell, scoff at such opinions. He notes that “the people who are said to be earning ‘obscene’ amounts of money are usually corporate executives. There is no such outrage whipped up when Hollywood movie stars make some multiple of what most corporate executives make.”

Mr. Sowell rightly points out that the progressive’s desire for “social justice” would get government involved in “income control” and that such greatly expanded powers for politicians would be “a blank check for creating disparities in power that dwarf disparities in income,” something that is far more dangerous.

And remember that 1937 and World War II were the precursors to the largest economic upswing in American history. If we are wise enough to allow minimal government interference with the free-market system, and if we keep the tax structure low, we will continue the economic cycle that has made the average American the beneficiary of the richest economy the world has ever seen.

BOB BENZE
Silverdale, Wash.

‘Trending Toward Orthodoxy’

True, self-definition largely determines Jewishness in modern American life (Oped, “Trending Toward Orthodoxy,” December 27, 2006). But let’s remember that Jewishness may be defined by others, too. Nazis scooped up plenty citizens who didn’t define themselves Jewish. Today, anyone threatened by jihadists screaming “Death to the Jews” might consider, “They mean me!”

TAMA STARR
President
Artkraft Strauss
New York, N.Y.

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