IT is probably true, as Business Week recently reported, that “the greatest single force changing and expanding the role of the federal government in the United States today is the push for equality.” Although some government statisties misleadingly indicate otherwise, it is clear that the distribution of income has become dramatieally more equal in recent years as a result of egalitarian polieies. Moreover, the massive redistribution currently taking place each year makes it very costly to attempt to move still further toward equality. I will show why by examining the economic and ethieal implications of additional redistribution.