THE DO's AND THE DO NOT's

[E7]

I WISH EVERYONE IN AMERICA WOULD READ THIS AND LET IT SINK IN
Bob Lonsberry, a Rochester talk radio personality on WHAM 1180 AM, said this in response to Biden's income inequality speech: "The Two Americas."

The Democrats are right, there are two Americas.

The America that works, and the America that doesn't.

The America that contributes, and the America that doesn't.

It's not the haves and the have nots --- it's the dos and the don'ts. Some people do their duty as Americans, obey the law, support themselves, contribute to society, and others don't. That's the divide in America.

It's not about income inequality, it's about civic irresponsibility. It's about a political party that preaches hatred, greed and victimization in order to win elective office.

It's about a political party that loves power more than it loves its country. That's not invective, that's truth, and it's about time someone said it.

The politics of envy was on proud display a couple weeks ago when President Biden pledged the rest of his term to fighting "income inequality." He noted that some people make more than other people, that some people have higher incomes than others, and he says that's not just.

That is the rationale of thievery. The other guy has it, you want it, Biden will take it for you. Vote Democrat.

That is the philosophy that produced Detroit. It is the electoral philosophy that is destroying America .

It conceals a fundamental deviation from American values and common sense because it ends up not benefiting the people who support it, but a betrayal.

The Democrats have not empowered their followers; they have enslaved them in a culture of dependence and entitlement, of victim-hood and anger instead of ability and hope.

The president's premise - that you reduce income inequality by debasing the successful - seeks to deny the successful the consequences of their choices and spare the unsuccessful the consequences of their choices. Because, by and large, income variations in society is a result of different choices leading to different consequences. Those who choose wisely and responsibly have a far greater likelihood of success, while those who choose foolishly and irresponsibly have a far greater likelihood of failure. Success and failure usually manifest themselves in personal and family income.

You choose to drop out of high school or to skip college - and you are apt to have a different outcome than someone who gets a diploma and pushes on with purposeful education and/or employment.

You have your children out of wedlock and life is apt to take one course; you have them within a marriage and life is apt to take another course.

Most often in life our destination is determined by the course we take.

My doctor, for example, makes far more than I do. There is significant income inequality between us. Our lives have had an inequality of outcome, but, our lives also have had an inequality of effort. While my doctor went to college and then devoted his young adulthood to medical school and residency, I chose another avenue.

He made a choice, I made a choice, and our choices led us to different outcomes. His outcome pays a lot better than mine. Does that mean he cheated and Joe Biden needs to take away his wealth? No, it means we are both free men in a free society where free choices lead to different outcomes.

It is not inequality Joe Biden intends to take away, it is freedom. The freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail. There is no true option for success if there is no true option for failure. The pursuit of happiness means a whole lot less when you face the punitive hand of government if your pursuit brings you more happiness than the other guy. Even if the other guy sat on his arse and did nothing. Even if the other guy made a lifetime's worth of asinine and shortsighted decisions.

President Biden and the Democrats preach equality of outcome as a right, while completely ignoring inequality of effort. The simple Law of the Harvest - as ye sow, so shall ye reap - is sometimes applied as, "The harder you work, the more you get." Biden would turn that upside down. Those who achieve are to be punished as enemies of society and those who fail are to be rewarded as wards of society.

Entitlement will replace effort as the key to upward mobility in American society if President Biden Barack gets his way. He seeks a lowest common denominator society in which the government besieges the successful and productive to foster equality through mediocrity. He and his party speak of two Americas, and their grip on power is based on using the votes of one to sap the productivity of the other. America is not divided by the differences in our outcomes, it is divided by the differences in our efforts. It is a false philosophy to say one man's success comes about unavoidably as the result of another man's victimization.

What Biden offered was not a solution, but a separatism. He fomented division and strife, pitted one set of Americans against another for his own political benefit. That's what socialists offer. Marxist class warfare wrapped up with a bow.

Two Americas, coming closer each day to proving the truth to Lincoln's maxim that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

[up148]

I read it and understand it's a response to Biden statement, but it will be misconstrued and flamed at some point. As we all know, the problem and the solution is not that cut and dried. There are many levels of truth and BS in both.

But, I do believe we have a lot of people today who just want to ride in the wagon, while others pull it. And, that is not the solution.

I'm not smart enough to figured this out, but we do have a serious problem.

[E7]

Here's a novel approach: Instead of just giving away the loot, let any able bodied people with the mental/physical ability to work do stuff like was done back with old CCC programs.
Don't post any lame a$$ crap about violating their rights.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Here's a novel approach: Instead of just giving away the loot, let any able bodied people with the mental/physical ability to work do stuff like was done back with old CCC programs.

Obviously not novel since it was done from 33 up into 1942. But, it's also something that I have advocated for many years. Sadly, some opposed it then and still do labeling it as a form of "socialism".

[chuck]

like was done back with old CCC programs

First thing that would happen if you tried that now is the siren wail from the private sector that the government is cutting in on their territory. When I worked for the Corps of Engineers back in the late 70's/early 80's we were often tasked with congressional requests for studies or projects. While we had the equipment/manpower/skill sets to do the work in house we were required to contract this out so as "not to compete".

The core issue is that the vast majority of the countries wealth has been falling into fewer and fewer hands. In the last 50 years we have seen the middle class share of aggregate wealth shrink by 20% while the upper income has grown by 20%. The richest 1 percent now owns more of the country’s wealth than at any time in the past 50 years. Approximately 1 in 10 move up from "middle class" to upper while 9 in 10 move down out of the middle class into "lower class". This is not sustainable.

You can't tax poor people. They don't have any money, that's primarily why they are poor. If you choose not to tax wealthy people or in our case chose not to enforce the already lenient tax codes on the wealthy you are left with taxing the middle class. Quite possibly right out of existence.

[E7]

like was done back with old CCC programs

First thing that would happen if you tried that now is the siren wail from the private sector that the government is cutting in on their territory. When I worked for the Corps of Engineers back in the late 70's/early 80's we were often tasked with congressional requests for studies or projects. While we had the equipment/manpower/skill sets to do the work in house we were required to contract this out so as "not to compete".

Boo Hoo. If the private sector doesn't like it, let them hire them. Job quotas aren't anything new,

You can't tax poor people. They don't have any money, that's primarily why they are poor.

That's the purpose of the government employing them, so they can make money and pay taxes. The first issue is to get them employed.

If you choose not to tax wealthy people or in our case chose not to enforce the already lenient tax codes on the wealthy you are left with taxing the middle class. Quite possibly right out of existence.

Sleepy said he was going to tax the rich...let's have at it!

You know so much, what's your solution?

[chuck]

what's your solution

Anyone peddling simplistic solutions to complex problems should be avoided like the plague unless you are listening solely for entertainment purposes.

The pandemic wasn’t anything like the great depression. Solutions that MAY have worked for the GD are not going to work because the underlying causes are nothing like the GD.

Fixing/enforcing the existing tax code would go a long way to addressing the budget crisis.

Getting people to stop buying into the mantra that the government can’t do anything right is going to be a much tougher nut to crack.

The issue isn’t that government is bad per se. It’s that bad government is bad. There are certain things that only the government can/should do. Government (especially at the federal level) are supposed to spend money. They are supposed to spend it wisely and to the benefit of the people they are governing.

Private business is supposed to make money by providing goods and services. In the last thirty years we have had increasing numbers of business that are doing the exact opposite. They are making money by NOT providing goods or services. They are making money in the stock market. The stock market itself has been turned into a kind of Las Vegas, on steroids. Decisions are rendered on how it will affect the stock price, short term. Most of the profits go into the pockets of CEO’s/CFO’s/boards of directors and no one seems to care about the actual business of making whatever or providing whatever service they are supposed to. No one (inside or outside) is actually watching the store.

[E7]

Well Slick, why don't you send all that stuff to your legislators!

[up148]

Have to agree the top tier is getting away with murder, because they have the politicians, media and everything else they need to sustain their wealth in their pockets. Top 1% needs to contribute a set percentage of their wealth (audited by me) or someone to cut the cheating tax attorneys out. I'm sure they try to scare the charities by saying if it goes to the government then none for you..........but when you have billions and billions, you have enough for all. Bezos ($113B), Buffet ($67B) , Gates ($98B), Arnault family ($76B) and I think they all have more, it just depends where you look. And there are many more to tax. Leave the people with $5-10m alone, so they can also build up more net worth for more taxes, but tax the really filthy rich people.

Agree on able body workers being put to work. Plenty of country, state and federal projects that need doing (not being done now) without affecting the small businessman. From what I've seen of government contracts, the government gets soaked (3-4 times normal costs) for being able to just turn the problem over to some contractor, no oversight at all.

I know its like that at Tinker AFB. All maintenance work (facility and aircraft) is done by contractors, who pay big bucks to employees to get them and when contract expires, the employees know they'll go on unemployment until the next contract comes up. Sort of like a paid vacation that could last
for many months.

We hired a couple who said they were tired of the feast or famine routine, but we found out after the fact, they were problem employees who were close to being fired. One contractor I'm very familiar with took his entire family (extended) on a 3 week vacation to Europe when they heard they won the contract.........you got to fix that kind of problem too.

[up148]

Well Slick, why don't you send all that stuff to your legislators!

Rich, are we having a bad day. How's your back?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Well Slick, why don't you send all that stuff to your legislators!

Rich, are we having a bad day. How's your back?

He's what's known as crankipated....

[up148]

Well Slick, why don't you send all that stuff to your legislators!

Rich, are we having a bad day. How's your back?

He's what's known as crankipated....

He has a very legitimate medical reason for showing a little attitude and I totally get it. And it keeps us all awake. As has been said many times, getting old isn't for pu$$ies.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Rich, are we having a bad day. How's your back?

He's what's known as crankipated....

He has a very legitimate medical reason for showing a little attitude and I totally get it. And it keeps us all awake. As has been said many times, getting old isn't for pu$$ies.

As do we all. I try to keep mine locked in a box in the basement in a filing cabinet in the darkest corner of the dark......

[E7]

My first problem with Chucky is he can't be bothered to use the board system to attribute quotes to the person that made them. If I insult someone, I'd like to get credit for doing so.

Butch, Chuck doesn't bother my back, he's more of a pain in the A$$.

Chuck, the problem is getting indigent folks who are capable of working employed (regardless whether they like it or not). Don't like my suggestion/suggestions, or have an actual answer of your own, don't bore us with your usual page or two of drivel, tell us YOUR solution.

....and if you choose to tell me what a stupid arrogant jerk I am, at least have the courtesy to give me credit by attributing my comments.

Rich

[up148]

He's what's known as crankipated....

He has a very legitimate medical reason for showing a little attitude and I totally get it. And it keeps us all awake. As has been said many times, getting old isn't for pu$$ies.

As do we all. I try to keep mine locked in a box in the basement in a filing cabinet in the darkest corner of the dark......

Lock in box, hide in basement, never explain, never complain. Well, that gives a goal to shoot for.