Do Americans have a responsibility to address inequality, and what message could bring us together to do it? I consider the tension between businesses pursuing profit and taxpayers supporting workers whose wages do not cover basic needs. The question leads to two earlier periods of American inequality and the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Lincoln’s defense of the fruits of labor and Roosevelt’s promise of a fair chance to succeed offer a common thread. Meaningful work should allow people to support their families, and government should help preserve the opportunity to do so. This January 2025 essay proposes a starting point for a shared economic agenda: reward work and build opportunity. Can that purpose guide policy more effectively than another fight over labels?
Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2025/01/21/reward-work-build-opportunity/
