I remember hearing a story about a dozen years ago regarding Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. The story took place during the filming for "Vegas Vacation." Anyway, whenever they weren't filming the actors were spending some time playing the slot machines at the hotels they were staying at. D'Angelo spent a good part of one day feeding a machine that never really paid out for her. The next day Chase was at the same machine and suddenly the machine was paying out jackpot after jackpot. D'Angelo was angry with Chase's success at the same machine she had been feeding so much and demanded Chevy pay her some of his winnings, claiming it was her feeding the machine the day prior which lead to his current success. Chevy reportedly denied D'Angelo this, rationalizing that if he was to pay her, than logically he would also owe money to anyone else who ever played that particular machine.
The reason I bring up this old story is because of what our President did in Roanoke, Virginia last Friday. In what has to be the most incredible display of socialistic rhetoric I've ever seen from the man, he claimed that people who are successful in building a business, are not responsible for their own success. "If you've got a business, you didn't build that" was one of the lines from Obama's nearly minute long rant linked below. During this rant the President made references to people benefiting from having good teachers, or benefiting from people building roads, or just benefiting from living in a system which somehow... gave I guess, their success to them. Obama's line is troubling for a number of reasons, one of which is that it reveals the Presidents opinion on business owners, which is that no matter how successful, all profits or proceeds should be confiscated and redistributed to everyone else. It's all part of a theory called "social justice" which is espoused by many individuals with ties to the Trinity Church, or as we know it best, the church in which Jeremiah Wright was a preacher and in which President Obama was a member for over twenty years.
What's really troubling here is that we have a President who's economic record has been horrible for his entire term in office and facing re-election he attacks business owners, who if successful, are the very people needed to help rebuild the country. Is it any wonder why this President's policies have failed? He, his administration, and his know nothing Democrat allies in Congress have always been on the side of bigger government involvement and an increase in spending. During Obama's term in office we will have seen the government take over of nearly 20% of the economy and spendning that has equated to nearly 8 billion dollars... a day. And as I write this unemployment is over 8% and has been there for over three years. The economy has not resonded and the President's latest comments should be a clear indicator that four more years of this man will ensure the economic malaise stays exactly where it is.
On a seperate, but similar note, I read a article in USA Today sometime last week which I unfortunately can not track down right now. The article stated that the American Dream of working hard to earn a better life had not been realized by the vast majority of Americans. The main point of the article was that people stayed within their station in life, the rich stayed rich, the middle class stayed in the middle, and the poor stayed poor. The article stated with so few rising to the top, it appeared to debunk the claim of an America were people could succeed.
In reading the article I am again reminded of my favorite Mark Twain quote: "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Yes, the poor stayed poor and the rich stayed rich, but this does not prove the system isn't there or it doesn't work. People have a level of education available to them which would have made their great grandparents red with jealously 100 years ago. They have the means to obtain loans for schools, businesses, and seek higher office themselves should they so choose. They have all these options, but in order to be successful they will need to put in a lot of long hours, dedication, and determination. For many Americans it's far easier to seek a job paying them wages which affords them the lifestyle they are used to living. So their status in life has nothing to do with the "American Dream" not being there, it comes down to personnel choices, as it always had. Success isn't a given, you have to want it bad enough to risk failing first.
Alright, that does it for my first post in awhile. A lot of stuff has been going on in the political world and since I do have a few days off I will take some time to make a few more posts in the coming days. If you have time, please review the video below. I think if you were on the fence before on who you may vote for in November, that this video should convince you Mitt Romney is the right choice for America, if for no other reason than the fact that Mitt understands the concept of encouraging business growth within America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKjPI6no5ng
-Zach
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