Obama: “I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody“
One’s wealth is a measure of one’s labor (effort, motiviation, and skill) and time – the “price” society attaches to you economically (but not to your worth as a person – different measure). Which brings up the great Libertarian question: who owns me? We settled that, at least in large part, back during the Civil War when one man’s labor became their own and not their Master’s (the epitome of slavery) and thus, finally had the chance to make their own wealth instead of forced to create or add to the wealth of another.
It seems, however, that with the rise of Socialism (under its Political Class nom de plume of “Progressive”) in the Democrat Party and in the people it sends to Congress (e.g., Annie Custer from NH-2 who campaigned as “I’m more Progressive than you!”), we now see a resurgence to reduce not just the Second Amendment but also the Foundational Principle of that Right to Private Property. The difference now is not the color of one’s skin but to the Economic / Political class to which you are perceived to belong.
Going back to Obama’s statement above, and the intent of Progressives everywhere (there’s that word “intent” again!), its corollary stands as “before it is spread, it must first be taken”. Oh, the rubric given is that it is for “the common good”. Or because “Government is the word for the things we all do together”, well, then all of the money that is earned, by necessity, must belong to us all, too! And here is Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), an outspoken member of the Progressive Caucus of the US House of Representatives, confirming that fear that the Right to Private Property (the “pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration) is being brushed aside “for the common good”. From CNSNews (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told a gathering of Democrats, “The bottom line is we’re not broke, there’s plenty of money, it’s just the government doesn’t have it.” Ellison was discussing his ‘Inclusive Prosperity Act’ measure at the July 25th Progressive Democrats of America roundtable in Washington. “People like, George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Paul Krugman, Joe Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sax, Dean Baker, Robert Poland, Larry Summers have said they all support a transaction tax,” Ellison said.
“The bottom line is we’re not broke, there’s plenty of money, it’s just the government doesn’t have it,” Ellison continued, “The government has a right, the government and the people of the United States have a right to run the programs of the United States. Health, welfare, housing – all these things.”
Progressives believe that Government should not only be involved in every every jot and tittle of our lives, but has the right (er, akin to the Divine Right of Kings? Neo-Feudalism being born? Is that the regression they wish to take us?) to be in charge. Which, if you continue the line of reasoning – Government owns it all and simply decides how much we are allowed to keep.
Again, another attack of the “fundamental transformation” of American – it used to be that Citizens were in charge, were preeminent, and government was a public servant. Ellison gives lie to that Founders Vision, preferring a foreign notion to American governance (right, Annie?). The allotted uses of the revenues from this Financial Transactions bill (“oh, it’s only a tiny part that we are ‘asking’ for”) are the following:
(A) strengthen financial security and expand opportunity for low- and moderate-income families, including strengthening the social safety net and expanding resources for child care, Social Security, and savings incentives; and
(B) expand resources for State and Federal investments that protect our health and environment, investing in water and wastewater infrastructure, rebuild our crumbling physical infrastructure, and create good paying jobs by–
(i) expanding and improving Medicare and Medicaid;
(ii) investing in education, student debt relief, job training, public sector jobs, and green jobs;
(iii) providing housing assistance to low-income households;
(iv) investing in transportation including public mass transit and an infrastructure bank that promotes environmentally responsible domestic manufacturing and construction industries; and
(v) protecting our environment and building a clean energy economy, including efforts to combat climate change and build resilience to its effects in the United States and in developing countries; and
(C) fund international sustainable prosperity programs such as health care investments, AIDS treatment, research and prevention programs, climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts by developing countries, and international assistance.
Yeah, Government needs more because almost a Trillion Dollars at the beginning of Obama’s regime (the Porkulus) just wasn’t enough – and spent on exactly the same things you want to know, eh Keith? And Detroit, and Chicago, and Illinois, and California – how’s that worked out for this fustercluck of an economic theory with your Blue Social model democracy (re: one party rule, crony capitalism, corruption, expanded vote bribery safety net, and more spending on increased illiteracy education?).
