Human beings were created equal. We are all made the same way. And, we are made of the same stuff. All of us are endowed with the very same physical features and body parts. We have a body, a head, a neck, two upper limbs called hands, and two lower limbs called legs. We have two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth on our face. We have four fingers and a thumb on each of the upper limbs. We have four fingers and a toe on our lower limbs. And, all the body parts are similar. All of us have red blood running through our veins. All breathe air, drink water and live on land.
But in our greed for possessions, we change that equation. We created money which has emerged as the root of inequality. All was well before we invented money. Money has created disparity amongst us.
Money has driven a wedge between human beings. Money has divided human beings into two broad categories—the rich and the poor. The rich are rolling in money while the poor have little or no money worth mentioning. This has turned us into ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’
Some people do not have even a thatched hut over their head to call their own. Others live in palatial mansions. Some of us do not have enough clothes to wear. Some have their wardrobes loaded with the choice of branded clothes.
Some do not have food to eat. The poor often got to bed on a hungry stomach. The rich, on the other hand, may splurge their wealth eating out in five-star deluxe hotels.
The poor have to pave their own paths by walking over the same path again and again. On the other hand, rubberized roads are laid for the automobiles of the rich.
The poor often fail to get treatment for their ailments due to death of monetary resources. The rich, on the other hand, get treated at Super Specialty Hospitals.
Welfare states started out with legislation to bridge this gap. These legislations were directed at reducing the inequality of income among the masses. Heavy taxation measures were imposed on the rich to bridge this gap. And, welfare measures were provided to the poor and the downtrodden free of cost from the taxes collected by the government.
The hitch is that the rich are not only moneyed but also powerful because of their monetary status. Eventually, they always find ways to influence the powers that be and bring about legislations that offer huge tax benefits to them. In other words, they manage to circumvent the laws and avoid taxation at different levels.
As a result, the rich are growing richer, and the poor are growing poorer. The rich continue to find ways to perpetuate their growth through money, muscle, influence, and decline of the poor. We have wittingly or unwittingly established a system where poverty and prosperity have learned to live side by side.
