On the Distribution of Wealth

Speaking at the Associated Industries Dinner in Boston on December 15, 1916, Calvin Coolidge, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts at the time, said, “It is our endeavor to extend equal blessings to all. It can be done approximately if we establish the correct standards. We are coming to see that we are dependent upon commercial and industrial prosperity, not only for the creation of wealth, but for the solving of the great problem of the distribution of wealth. There is just one condition on which men can secure employment and a living, nourishing, profitable wage, for whatever they contribute to the enterprise, be it labor or capital, and that condition is that some one make a profit by it. That is the sound basis for the distribution of wealth and the only one. It cannot be done by law, it cannot be done by public ownership, it cannot be done by socialism. When you deny the right to a profit you deny the right of a reward to thrift and industry.”

One thought on “On the Distribution of Wealth

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.