Rethinking Redistribution of Wealth

Our president has said “spreading the wealth around is a good thing”. And it is … IF it’s done via the charitable heart of the individual. But when the middleman is in Washington, DC the inherent flaws of socialism rear their ugly heads. In the words of founding father James Madison, “Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government”.

I was watching television the other night and I came to the conclusion that maybe this “redistribution of wealth” policy of the current administration could be tweaked a little to make conservatives like me more amenable to it. Currently the goal is to take from those who earned their money and give it to those that have no interest in earning it. That is inherently a bad policy. It sounds all well and good but there are countless reasons why this ideology is dangerous (to say the least).

The underlying reasoning is helping those that need help and I think the majority of Americans embrace that idea. The problem is in the “method” of redistribution. Our government would have us believe that THEY can spend OUR money more wisely that WE, the people, can. If you aren’t laughing then the odds are that you’re a politician! If there was ever an oxymoron it’s “Wise Government” …

Look at the current status of our government. They spend ONE TRILLION more dollars than they bring in every year. Do you know how much ONE TRILLION dollars is? Start counting right now. It will take you 536 years to count to one trillion! Well, if you don’t stop for a breath anyway.

If the goal is to help people escape poverty then giving money earned by hardworking citizens to those who have done nothing to earn that money will not teach the lessons that need to be learned in this nation. Milton Friedman said “The great achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re talking about, the only cases in recorded history, are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade”.

It’s about self reliance, hard work, ingenuity, honesty, integrity, and perseverance. We must stop using the tactics currently employed by our leaders. Envy, hate, and resentment hurt our society and the ultimate result of the “redistribution of wealth” achieved by those means is best described by Winston Churchill as “the equal sharing of misery”. Margaret Thatcher summed it up precisely: “Socialism is a great until you run out of other people’s money”. Now that I’m clear in my abhorrence of the redistribution of wealth, let me explain the “tweaks” to the ideology that would make it more palatable.

It all boils down to WHO we extract the money from to accomplish this grand scheme. My first criteria would be to garnish the wages of those that add no redeeming value to our society. Has anyone been watching American Idol this season? If so, I think we can agree that Nikki Minaj should start off the list of people that add nothing to our society. Well, nothing positive. She does add arrogance, rudeness, conceit, and self aggrandizement to our society. I never thought Idol would find someone more full of themselves than Simon Cowell but I guess if you dig far enough down in the barrel you can find about anything. Another addition to the list is Kim Kardashian. Do I really need to explain that one?

In the next category I think we need to add actors and actresses that access their uninformed, unintelligent minds to bless us with their liberal wisdom (another oxymoron). Does anyone really care what Matt Damon, Ashley Judd, or Sean Penn think? They are most certainly in favor of redistributing wealth (mostly other people’s wealth) so why don’t they put their money where their mouth is and pony up about 95310302f their wealth to the government so they can pass it out to those people they claim they so desperately want to help? Or do they think they can spend the money more wisely on their own?

Lastly, I would like to propose that the career politicians that so excitedly support the redistribution of wealth are added to the list along with an assurance to the American people that the legislation they write will not exempt them from their own legislation as most of their legislation typically does. In addition, those that have made a killing on Wall Street via their use of insider information should be required to be wealth redistributed FIRST. If Nancy Pelosi loves redistribution and she’s made millions due to her political ties and her access to information most traders would kill for, then let’s raid her bank account first. I’m sure she’d willingly provide access to her ill-gotten gains because she’s a real patriot, right?

Stop laughing and wipe the tears from your eyes so you can see the remainder of my list of other politicians and celebrities that should surrender their money so they look less like the hypocrites we, and they, know they are: Warren Buffett, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, George Soros, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Al Gore, Michael Moore, Ariana Huffington, Oprah, Mark Cuban, Jay-Z, Bill Maher, Michael Bloomberg, Chris Mathews, Rachel Maddow, George Clooney, Paul Krugman, Andy Stern, and Al Franken. For good measure lets go ahead and throw in all of the news media that tout the evils of capitalism; ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS.

IF those people on the list would practice what they preach they could probably eliminate the debt, eliminate the deficit, provide free health care for those that genuinely NEED it, feed every hungry mouth in the USA, and even give us all a free Netflix membership. But don’t hold your breath. They’d rather sit up on their high horse and pretend they care about others than to actually do something about the issues that plague our country.

So if the liberal progressive legislators want conservatives on board for redistribution of wealth … there’s the plan. By the way, one final word from Thomas Jefferson …

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”