R.C. Longworth’s article “A bottom-line blight on American Life” (Perspective, Oct. 5) is another blatant attempt by the Tribune to distort information to make capitalism look bad in order to promote its liberal agenda.
You state that Longworth was the Tribune’s chief economics correspondent, so he is in a position to know the census statistics he is quoting are not an accurate depiction of income distribution in the U.S. These figures do not include any welfare income such as food stamps, Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children or any other means-tested entitlements or aid, which constitute the major income for the poorest people in the U.S. When this aid is added to income statistics, the poorest 20 percent of the population are shown to be much more affluent than census bureau data indicate. Any financial reporter worth his salt knows that.
Longworth’s liberal bias is affirmed in his last paragraph, in which he states “the ideal of democracy is equality, the ideal of capitalism is inequality.” Both halves of this statement reflect liberal beliefs that are patently untrue; an ideal democracy provides equal opportunity, not equality of results. The only thing about capitalism pertaining to inequality is that competition forces prices down so they become more equal, thereby improving the quality of life for all consumers.
Objectivity and the whole truth are concepts not in the lexicon of the Tribune’s reporting.
