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Barack Obama's 'Lottery Winners'
Townhall.com ^ | May 20, 2015 | Ben Shapiro

Posted on 05/20/2015 12:06:19 PM PDT by Kaslin

Last week, President Obama held a summit on poverty at Georgetown University. There, he explained that unrest in major American cities could be traced not to lack of values, but to simple lack of cash -- and that lack of cash, he suggested, could be attributed to simple lack of luck. "The top 25 hedge fund managers made more than all of the kindergarten teachers in the country," Obama stated. "You pretty much have more than you'll ever be able to use or anyone in your family will ever be able to use. There's a fairness issue involved here." He added that we should confiscate wealth from those people and redistribute it to "early childhood education" -- one of the greatest government boondoggles of all time -- because that's "where the question of compassion and 'I'm my brother's keeper' comes into play. And if we can't ask from society's lottery winners to just make that modest investment, then really this conversation [on poverty] is just for show."

This is evil masquerading as generosity.

First, the simple fact that some people earn lots of money while others earn not as much does not implicate "fairness." Your earnings result from the number and value of voluntary transactions seeking your skills, services or goods. It is not unfair that those who understand how to manage billions of dollars on behalf of those who do not earn more than kindergarten teachers; there are far more people qualified to teach kindergarten than to manage money, which is why kindergarten teachers generally hand over their pension funds to money managers.

Second, Barack Obama's subjective view that some people have too much money reeks of monarchic arrogance. President Obama's net worth currently stands at nearly $7 million. He sends his children to the most toney private school in Washington, D.C. He and his wife enjoy taxpayer-sponsored vacations that would make Middle Eastern potentates blush. They also enjoy the favors of Hollywood celebrities who earn as much as hedge fund managers, but never seem to receive the same "you've got enough" Soviet-style central planning routine from the Obamas.

Third, President Obama should not invoke Biblical phraseology without understanding both plain meaning and context. Obama's own half-brother, George, lived as of 2008 on less than $1 per day. And when it comes to Biblical interpretation, the context for "my brother's keeper" comes from Cain and Able: Cain suggests that he need not watch over his brother shortly after killing him out of jealousy for Able's hard work and better sacrifice. Today's Cain is the modern left, which seeks to slay its brothers for the great crime of working harder and sacrificing more.

Finally, Obama's allusion to rich Americans as "lottery winners" insults the intelligence. Warren Buffett did not play the lottery. Nor did Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. They worked hard, produced great products and enriched millions of lives. True lottery winners produce nothing; generally speaking, those who buy lottery tickets are disproportionately poor and spendthrift, and often end up broke again after winning the lottery. The only real lottery winner in this discussion is Obama himself, who has produced nothing and somehow lucked into the most powerful position on the planet.

America does not need wealth redistribution. It needs a values conversion. No poor person has a child out of wedlock thanks to the evils of rich people. No poor person drops out of high school because a rich person forced them to do so. Poverty can sometimes be chalked up to luck on an individual level, but it can't be chalked up to luck on a mass scale. And wealth can't be chalked up to luck, either. To do so is to impoverish our own values at the expense of our future.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: barack0bama; georgetownuni; poverty; wealthredistribution
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1 posted on 05/20/2015 12:06:19 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

It might be said that Obama is Karl Marx in sheep’s clothing.

Or Lenin.


2 posted on 05/20/2015 12:11:18 PM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: Kaslin
Lottery Winners: Living Large in the Obama White House


3 posted on 05/20/2015 12:12:09 PM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: Kaslin

The secret to endemic generational failure:

Broken families.

Substance abuse.


4 posted on 05/20/2015 12:15:14 PM PDT by marron
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To: Jack Hammer

Karl Marx in a thousand dollar suit.


5 posted on 05/20/2015 12:16:00 PM PDT by marron
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To: Kaslin

“The top 25 hedge fund managers made more than all of the kindergarten teachers in the country,” Obama stated.

It’s impossible to claim you support capitalism with a statement such as that.


6 posted on 05/20/2015 12:16:46 PM PDT by ryan71 (Bibles, Beans and Bullets)
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To: Kaslin
This is evil masquerading as generosity.

Well said.

7 posted on 05/20/2015 12:18:13 PM PDT by KC_Conspirator
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To: ryan71

“You pretty much have more than you’ll ever be able to use or anyone in your family will ever be able to use. There’s a fairness issue involved here.”


8 posted on 05/20/2015 12:18:52 PM PDT by ryan71 (Bibles, Beans and Bullets)
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To: Kaslin
"The top 25 hedge fund managers made more than all of the kindergarten teachers in the country," Obama stated.

"Make me your king and I'll decide how much you need and how much you get."

The fools who vote for him actually think they will have more after he gets through with them.

9 posted on 05/20/2015 12:18:52 PM PDT by marron
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To: ryan71

” There’s a fairness issue involved here.””

NO there isn’t !


10 posted on 05/20/2015 12:23:16 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: Kaslin

He is not afraid to show how deep his hatred for others drives him to punish and not nurture.

He is a simple little thug that could care less about what happens to the communities he supposedly seeks to “transform”.

WakeUp America!!!


11 posted on 05/20/2015 12:27:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (SEMPER FI!! - Monthly Donors Rock!!)
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To: Jack Hammer

“It might be said that Obama is Karl Marx in sheep’s clothing.”

More like Louis Farrakhan.


12 posted on 05/20/2015 12:44:03 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Liawatha, because we need to beat a real commie, not a criminal posing as one.)
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To: Kaslin

I suggest reading “The Rational Optimist” if you want to know how prosperity is created.

Hint: It is NEVER created by governments. It is destroyed by governments.


13 posted on 05/20/2015 12:49:34 PM PDT by generally (Don't be stupid. We have politicians for that.)
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To: marron

The secret to staying out of poverty and having upward economic mobility:

married biological parents.


14 posted on 05/20/2015 12:50:38 PM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: ryan71

No one asks him why he is arrogating the authority to make such a declaration.

Who is he to decide how much anyone needs or should have?


15 posted on 05/20/2015 12:51:57 PM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Kaslin; GOPsterinMA; sickoflibs; stephenjohnbanker; NFHale
No poor person has a child out of wedlock thanks to the evils of rich people

Money quote.

16 posted on 05/20/2015 12:57:55 PM PDT by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Kaslin

Wait just a gosh-darned minute now! I have played the lottery every single day for the last 40+ years - it involved gambling that showing up at work every day, doing what was asked of me, learning about the industry I went into, and working hard would someday pay off.

By golly, it has! I am so lucky - I have always had (or been able to find, when I got laid off a couple of times) a job and, today, own my own company.

Now, I look for people who want to play the lottery like I did. I hope they all strike it rich. Even if they don’t, I will have been lucky enough to help them make a comfortable living and enjoy themselves in the process.


17 posted on 05/20/2015 1:00:56 PM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (Liars use facts when the truth doesn't suit their purposes.)
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To: MrB
Who is he to decide how much anyone needs or should have?

It is a sleight of hand. The moment you agree with him, he owns you.

18 posted on 05/20/2015 1:58:16 PM PDT by marron
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To: Quality_Not_Quantity

Isn’t Chelsea Hubby a hedge funder?


19 posted on 05/20/2015 1:58:33 PM PDT by Zenjitsuman (New Boss Nancy Pelosi)
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To: Impy

“No poor person has a child out of wedlock thanks to the evils of rich people

Money quote. “

Obama certifies his psychopathy.


20 posted on 05/20/2015 2:05:13 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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