Ordinary Joes have mixed feelings on wealth

The war of words waged by John McCain and Barack Obama for the votes of plumbers and other average Joes is a reminder of the nation's long-standing doubts about concentrated wealth _ and its qualms about doing something about it.

Americans have voiced concerns about putting too much wealth in to too few hands since the country was founded, but the public's views also come with contradictions.

Now it's clearer than ever _ thanks to Obama's much scrutinized talk about taxes with a certain Ohio voter and McCain's dogged criticism _ that these mixed feelings about income inequality are a long way from being resolved.

"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody," Obama told the man _ maybe you've heard of him _ Joe the Plumber.

Class warfare is alive and well and the Democrats are fanning the flames. People don't seem to learn from history -- that the Soviet Union and Eastern European communist countries collapsed when they ran out of people from whom to take "wealth" and the communist system punishes incentives.

Also, didn't some smart person say that Democracy will only last until people figure out they can vote themselves benefits, which is about where we are standing today. Rather than focusing on opportunities, some people want the government to take and redistribute wealth and income.

An old joke comes to mind: A communist is explaining communism to a peasant:

IF your neigbor has two cows, we'll give you one. The peasant like the idea. The communist continues: if your neighbor has two houses, we'll take it from him and give it to you. Peasant likes the idea even more. Then the communist says: And if your neighbor has two shirts, we'll take it away and give you one. Peasant says, no, I don't like communism afterall. Communist asks him why. Peasant says:" Because I have two shirts".

Welfare State (Obama's Tax Plan)(Transcript and Video)

Biggs: " Well senator Obama's tax plan is very confusing for typical people I think a part of that is deliberate. In essence so here's what's going on. Senator Obama wants to reduce Social Security payroll taxes for low income people. So a lot of them wouldn't be paying very much into the system anymore. But he still continue to paid in full benefits at retirement. So this is an essence a transfer to people. This plan would cost around 700 billion dollars over the next ten years and to pay for -- increase income taxes on higher income people. Says it would really be big changes how Social Security has always functioned.

He tells them they have to pay as much so they can hold on to the other person's mind so essentially they've taken the 5% and give it to the 95%. This is all part and parcel of senator Obama's general philosophy redistribution. We take money from some people give it the other people and he's the middleman who decides who gets what. Americans are not opposed to giving them money to other people but they like to do through charity work very charitable people. Americans get a little upset when the -- taken from him to give to somebody else was with Senator Obama making decisions on who gets what. "

When all else fails, I usually go back to the instruction manual.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET.

Thank you!

We are all EQUAL however we are not all EQUAL in ability. It is our obligation to make the most of what talents and gifts we have and not to COVET what others have or make money our god.

We should be content with what we have and be charitable to those who have less. It is not the role of the government to be CHARITY. It is the role of CHURCHES to be charitable trough it's members.

It's unfortunate that through Bush we now have the “churches” feeding at the government trough. This is wrong and why Christianity is NOT flourishing in the U.S.. Humanism is but not Christianity.

When all else fails, I usually go back to the instruction manual.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET.

Thank you!

We are all EQUAL however we are not all EQUAL in ability. It is our obligation to make the most of what talents and gifts we have and not to COVET what others have or make money our god.

We should be content with what we have and be charitable to those who have less. It is not the role of the government to be CHARITY. It is the role of CHURCHES to be charitable trough it's members.

I had a call from the Washington Post yesterday trying to get me to go back to daily papers (about a year ago I switched to Sunday only for the Sunday crossword). They offered me a couple months of free daily papers for the cost of Sunday only. I told the young lady no, didn’t want the free papers... and I asked her if the Washington Post might be interested in knowing why. I told her I realized she probably had no vehicle for gathering the info. She said, uh... suuurre... I told her I no longer considered the Washington Post to be a legitimate news source.

Now I realize she’s just some young lady trying to make a living and that they are probably not collecting information on why readership is diminishing. But it sure made me feel good to say it.

We have the WP in our kitchen area at work everyday. Almost daily, the front page of each section features some kissy article about Obama or some member of his family with a large picture of him. It’s as though McCain/Palin does not exist unless of course there is some negative article about them.

I got so sick of the demonization of President Bush. It’s a sham of a newspaper.

I earn it, I keep it. It's as simple as that.

I think, as a Retiree who used to be a State Welfare Caseworker, that there are a lot of people who don't want to grow up and be responsible for their own lives. The "Welfare System" created a "Welfare Class" back in the 40's and 50's. I've read old cases where a family was enticed with an apartment if they'd allow their cute little blonde girl be adopted out. After all, they couldn't "afford" another child to feed. And it went downhill from there.

Unfortunately there is a part of every personality that wants someone to take care of them and someone to blame when things go wrong for them. They make poor choices, they drop out of school, they get in trouble with the law, they try to hide their failures with drugs. It's not their fault. They are "disabled" for some reason. Or as one of my little old ladies always said to me: "I'm eligible." She thought she was entitled for every Government program. And she'd heard the stories from her parents and grandparents about "slave days" when their family was taken care of . . . and FDR just perpetuated that mentality among SOME people. Not by any means were they all black or another minority. Many were poor whites from share cropper families. They could "get ahead" with the help of FDR (and a semi-socialist Nation).

Up here in the mountains, familes were taken care of by the CCC boys, their sons who learned a trade. They still drive their huge dump trucks around the square as if the truck were a pick up. Probably 500 families in this County have single truck "truck companies." Some have dump trucks, some logging trucks and some larger trucks. Few of these families can make it on one income, so they have Medicaid for the children, Food Stamps, and stand in line for Commodities every quarter. They're the "working poor" who dream of owning a big company one day and making that $250,000 a year. And they feel no shame or remorse for having to take from the Federal Government. "They pay taxes" is the phrase they use and they think they're entitled to get some of their taxes back in the form of Medicaid or Food Stamps or Commodities or Heating/Cooling Assistance.

And a couple of them have gotten fortunate. One family owned a mountain that is now being used for crushed rock and makes cement. Many of the single-truck hauling companies work for them. But up here, the memories of the Great Depression live in the stories the grandparents and parents relate to their children. This area was the last in Georgia to get electricity or telephones.

So, I see people with a streak of independence that sometimes takes over and pulls individuals out of their "welfare-mindset" but there are still the fearful ones who want the government to continue to take care of them because they don't want that responsibility.

Kind of simplified, and I'm drinking wine, so if it doesn't sound clear, FReepmail me.

And maybe I just said something "important" -- Fearful Minded People versus Independent Minded People. -- Liberals Versus Conservatives.

I'm relating that to my liberal and conservative friends and it fits. My liberal friends worry instead of getting out and doing something to make their lives better. They moan and groan. My conservative friends sit down and use what's at hand to figure out a way to make it. Yup, it does fit.

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