Education letters 10/26

Income redistribution: The coach has it right

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Everyone benefits, but is system fair?” (Sports, Oct. 17) describes how DeKalb County high schools must share their football ticket revenues countywide, including revenue from playoff games. Tucker football coach Franklin Stephens states, “[Playoff revenue is] bonus money for a team that’s gone out and been successful, and they don’t get their reward. Why should the county be privy to that money?”

Hmmm. This sounds similar to successful workers wondering why the federal government is privy to their money.

The coach has gotten to the heart of fiscal conservatism — letting people keep the fruits of their labor. This drives the incentive to work hard, which ultimately increases everyone’s standard of living.

Hopefully, the downside of football revenue redistribution in DeKalb County will convince more people that government-mandated income redistribution is not the answer to our current challenge of growing the economy. I hope President Barack Obama is listening.

Dana R. Hermanson, Dinos Eminent Scholar Chair of Private Enterprise, Kennesaw State University