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“The contrast between the deserving and undeserving poor is found in hundreds of law review articles, but the rich are not subjected to such categorization. The deserving poor are thought to be those who are married, work hard, and limit the size of their families. The poor who are unmarried, are unemployed, and need help supporting their children are considered undeserving. But, as commonly conceived, the rich are considered deserving regardless of what they do or the characteristics of their families. . . .
Rosser is prying at the weakest point of the libertarian edifice by calling attention to the egregious lie Americans tell themselves: “I did it myself with nobody’s help.” Of course, nobody does it all by themselves — we all benefit from inheritances and luck of all kinds, from education (for which nobody pays the full cost), and from growing up in a society that isn’t unendurably polluted or unstable. If anybody ought to “give back” because of this, shouldn’t everybody?
