American-Style Redistribution

"The idea of taking from the haves to give to the have-nots violates the ideal, or myth,

James Michael Curley
(Jamaica Plain Historical Society)

that any American can ascend to a much higher class by working with diligence and cunning. As James Michael Curley, the Boston Irishman who was one of the most successful local politicians in U.S. history, allegedly quipped, 'Redistribution of the wealth would be all right, but in America the best we can achieve is redistribution of the graft.'" (7) --Michael Kazin, American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation