President Obama recently delivered a speech, in which he stated:
those at the top are doing better than ever
too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up
it’s our job to reverse those trends,
and
we’ve gotta build an economy that works for everyone, not just a fortunate few.
The third quote can and should be attacked, because I don’t see anything in the Constitution mentioning that as a job of government or the presidency, but it’s the last words of the last quote that are the most telling. The president could have said a wealthy few, or a successful few, or an affluent few, but instead chose a word that carries the overtone or luck. With that overtone, the listener might be inclined to conclude that those 1%ers were somehow bestowed with their wealth by the vagaries of chance, rather than having earned it through hard work, talent, skill and perseverance. Yes, there’s often luck involved in success, but luck favors the prepared, and those who have made themselves ready to seize opportunities are more likely to be successful when those opportunities arise.
Jealousy and envy are powerful tools, often used by politicians to coax voters in a particular direction. Class warfare has long been a staple of politics, and it is a root principle in various forms of statism. The President, in calling those who’ve been successful “fortunate,” stokes the flames of class warfare and suggests to those who are listening that the fact they’re not as rich as the 1%ers isn’t because the 1%ers worked harder, or are smarter, or have different priorities, but simply because the stars aligned a certain way. And, in hinting at that message, he legitimizes the redistribution of wealth from the 1%ers to others.
While we’re beating up particular words, lets take shot at redistribution. To redistribute something implies that it was distributed in the first place. Or, in simpler language, it was given out. Not earned, not created, given out, as if wealth creation is simply the meting out of shares from a pot of money by some external agency. Pile that onto Obama’s infamous you didn’t build that snippet and the picture coalesces even further.
The President’s words have made it rather clear that he doesn’t respect the basic principle that you own the fruit of your labor, nor does he understand wealth creation. If you’re successful, it’s just because you won the lottery instead of someone else. And, since you came by your wealth via that element of chance, since that wealth was, in his mind, somehow there in the first place, there’s no problem taking (or reclaiming, if we’re to continue the theme) some of that wealth and redistributing it out to others.
I’ve engaged in many, many political debates, with people who’ve held belief sets that range all over the spectrum. From time to time, I’ve crossed paths with someone whose world view, ideas and beliefs are so alien that there’s no chance of breaking through their misconceptions. There’s no common ground upon which to construct an argument that will make a point. There’s no way to present a case for individual economic rights to such folks.
Obama seems to be such a person. I see little hope that he’ll ever respect our economic liberty, our right to keep what we earn, or our right to retain what we own. It’s a sad and scary realization, and with it comes the need to simply accept that we just have to ride the storm out and hope that the next person in charge isn’t so alien.
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