"Libertarians and liberals ought to be natural allies on these populist, deregulatory issues"

From Timothy B. Lee on Cato, an excellent post:

"I think there’s a related point here for libertarians: we’re often too quick to reject populist rhetoric and concerns about inequality. Certainly there are good reasons to be skeptical of proposals to redistribute income via the tax code. But there are also lots of ways in which government policies widen the gap between rich and poor. So when people express concerns about inequality, the most effective response is not to dismiss those concerns out of hand, but to turn the conversation to the many ways that bad government policies have increased inequality. Liberalization of occupational licensure, business licensing, and land use regulations, restrictions on eminent domain, school choice, and a reduction of corporate welfare are all policies that deregulate and reduce inequality. Libertarians and liberals ought to be natural allies on these populist, deregulatory issues, and such a coalition is more likely to emerge if libertarians take liberals’ concerns about inequality more seriously."

I would only add that inequality also contributes to more reliance on government intervention, because a middle class that considers itself middle class, as opposed to just above destitute, is necessary for creating the conditions for a smaller government in real life.