In his Aug. 15 column "Bush's 'ownership society' adds up to rich owning more," syndicated columnist Paul Krugman states, "I thought all Americans have a vital stake in the nation's future, regardless of how much property they own." But the real world shows that ownership makes a difference, unless you live in a utopia or perhaps in the former Soviet Union, and we all know how that socialist economic system ended.

Krugman also asks, "Don't workers have as much stake as property owners in the economy's success?" Again, one would answer "yes" if one subscribes to Marxist thought, "no" if one believes in capitalism.

In the real world, ownership rights lead to greater care and work for anything. Take houses, for example. People who own their own house work harder to keep its value up. Those who rent have less incentive to maintain, upgrade or improve the property. They have no incentive to benefit from the appreciation in the value of that property. Ownership in stock is no different.

Workers who only have a wage could hardly care if the company is profitable as long as their incomes are paid. However, if those same workers have a vested interest in the company's profits, for example though a profit-sharing plan, then they will care and work harder to earn their cut in the profits. With time, patience and hard work, all worker/owners benefit.

If owner A has one $50 share and owner B has 100 shares of the same stock, and if the stock yields 4 percent, then both owners A and B made 4 percent on their investment. Krugman seems to think it is unfair that those with more stock should earn more income because they have more shares, but both made 4 percent. I guess he is all for a rookie columnist starting at the New York Times to be paid exactly how much he is paid, right?

The Bush income tax cuts benefited all individuals who paid income taxes. True, those who paid the most income taxes benefited the most. It seems quite fair that the top 5 percent, who pay more than 50 percent of the income taxes, should benefit the most.

It seems to me that Krugman is against income taxes, especially wage income taxes. Will he support the abolition of the progressive income tax and the enactment of a flat national sales tax being championed by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert? Very doubtful - I can hear the class warfare argument now.

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Mark Sutton, a resident of Loveland, is a financial adviser with American Express Financial Advisors.

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