When In Doubt

Listen to Ben Franklin.

He wrote: "I have not indeed yet thought of a Remedy for Luxury. I am not sure that in a great State it is capable of a Remedy. Nor that the Evil is in itself always so great as it is represented."

Franklin, of course, is known for his counsel on frugality, but only as a self-imposed virtue, not by the force of the state. The luxurist may be unwise, but that need not mean his wealth needs regulating.

Indeed.