ABSTRACT
The inequitable distribution of income is a problem only if government is able to alter it and if it is considered permissible for government to make the attempt. senators from the Northeast and Midwest have begun to coalesce around the question of regional distribution, converting a former resultant into conscious choice. This chapter argues on the government's distribution of goods and services to the citizens of Oakland, California. There is an adage that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but in our work we found a pattern of distribution that favored both extremes. With specific reference to schools, in 1969 and 1970 the observed distribution of salary dollars versus neighborhood income level had a U shape. In 1970 and 1971 a new administration came in and adopted policies specifically aimed at evening out distribution of resources. The patterns of resource distribution are not self-evident to either citizen or bureaucrat; added to which, citizens' preferences are not likely to be on the same level as the allocation decisions bureaucrats make.
