To the Editor:

An unfortunate decimal-point error in Steven Kelman’s letter [Letters from Readers, February] commenting on “About Equality” by Irving Kristol [November 1972] dramatically destroys his case, and, surprisingly, Mr. Kristol fails to recognize it. If the nation’s 3,500,000 richest families (those with incomes above $30,000) paid an extra $1,000 each in taxes, that would yield not the $35 billion Mr. Kelman calculates, but only $3.5 billion. The policy implications of this are, of course, quite critical. The fact is that there just isn’t enough money to be picked up in the highest-income rungs alone, both to raise the incomes of the lower rungs and to meet all of the public needs that Mr. Kelman and others properly advocate. The tough truth is that, whatever we do and should do to increase the contributions of the rich, we will have to look for more from the many millions in our middle-income groups if any real progress is to be made in achieving the social goals many of us share. And there’s the rub. Those earning around $10,000 or $20,000 a year desire, understandably, to live like those earning $30,000 or more, and for them their present taxes seem already oppressive.

The social and political climate these days does not permit of any expectations that the great majority of Americans will soon agree to an increase in their tax load. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work for a better climate and for greater public understanding of the basic facts of life.

Hyman Bookbinder
American Jewish Committee
Washington, D.C.