Nineteen Neglected Consequences of Income Redistribution Robert Higgs Virtually every government action changes the personal distribution of income, but some government programs, which give money, goods, or services to individuals who give nothing in exchange, represent income redistribution in its starkest form. Until the twentieth century, American governments steered pretty clear of such "transfer payments." The national government gave pensions and land grants to veterans, and local governments provided food and shelter to the destitute. But the transfers to veterans can be viewed as deferred payments for military services, and local relief never amounted to much. Since the creation of...