A surprise bestseller by French economist Thomas Piketty certainly has generated lots of talk and controversy. His book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” arrived on the scene as the president and many members of Congress were talking about income inequality. It is controversial for many reasons. One of them is his endorsement of an 80 percent tax rate in an attempt to level incomes.

Stephen Moore, writing in the Wall Street Journal, takes a moment to deal with what he believes is the “Robin Hood Fallacy.” While it sounds moral to take from the rich to give to the poor, there is much more going on in this argument.

Thomas Piketty believes that “meritocratic extremism” is ruining our economy. Stephen Moore says that is another way of saying that you get to keep the fruits of your labor. Instead, the progressive French economist believes we need to raise taxes on the rich. This will, he argues, level the playing field and have no negative impact on the economy.

Stephen Moore asks a good question. If tax rates don’t matter, then it is hard to explain why Florida and Texas (states with no state income tax) have gained four times the number of jobs over the last 20 years compared to states with the highest rates (like California and New York).

Stephen Moore also says that the national story is even more compelling. In the 1960s, President Kennedy cut tax rates. In the 1980s, President Reagan also cut tax rates. Three things happened. First, the economy exploded. Second, the share of income taxes paid by the rich increased. Third, total tax receipts doubled.

If your goal is to have the rich pay more, lowering tax rates seems like a better solution. In the 1970s, the richest 1 percent paid about 19 percent of all federal income taxes. Now the rich pay close to 38 percent of all federal income taxes.

Over the next few months, lots of people will be talking about this book from the progressive French economist. It’s worth remembering some of the concerns Stephen Moore has about the “Robin Hood Fallacy.”