Fire-side Chat, May 3, 2009

I was on twitter earlier (which, btw, is the greatest social networking site ever) instigating a debate with some followers of the #p2 hashtag, when I shockingly learned that there “should be an ultimate right to a certain standard of living and a guarantee to full employment”.  Say wahh??  I’ve heard some crazy things from the left, but that takes the cake.

I’ve listed a few of the tweets I received from the crazed-left each followed by my response:

• @ctarbell03 Socialism just takes the wealth got by membership in society and uses it to help the less fortunate members get wealth, too #p2
  • @DavidalBarron Socialism creates a system of inequality, those who choose to work and generate wealth are punished by those who don't #p2 #tcot
• @ctarbell03 There are those who don't have so much choice, either by losing the genetic lottery or social status. #p2 #tcot
  • @DavidalBarron What does "losing the genetic lottery" have to do with work ethic? #p2 #tcot
  • @DavidalBarron Leveling the playing field by creating class warfare, how about they GET A JOB makes more sense, no? #p2 #tcot
• @ctarbell03 The unemployment rate is 8.9% right now,did all those people suddenly decide to quit? How is it their fault? #p2 #tcot
  • @DavidalBarron so you're saying there is an ultimate right of employment? #p2 #tcot
  • @DavidalBarron and how do you expect there to be a guarantee of jobs? who's paying for it? oh, the people who pay taxes! gotcha! #p2 #tcot
• @ctarbell03 Getting a job isn't as easy as just looking for one, especially in this economy.
  • @prognosys then get creative! many successful business were started in recessions, the entrepreneurial spirit is what drives this economy
• @ctarbell03 Starting a business requires an initial investment; some people can't afford to take from their food budget.
  • @prognosys so what do you propose? Just sit there and wait for their bailout check from those who find jobs? McDonald's and WalMart r hiring
• @ctarbell03 You can get a job at Walmart only if you have a car, you live near one and you happen to be picked from the applicants. #tcot
  • @prognosys never heard of public transportation? Taxis? Car-pooling? Bicycle? Walking? I'd like to know what u propose ud like to see happen
• @ctarbell03 Taxis cost money, sometimes more than you'd make in a day. Public transportation is underfunded. I personally like welfare.
  • @prognosys so you want to sit on your ass and collect welfare while others are forced to work to provide for you and others?
• @ctarbell03 I believe that everybody has a fundamental right to a certain standard of living.
  • @prognosys you didn't answer the question, do u find it fair to punish prosperity in the name of "equality"?
• @ctarbell03 How are taxes punishing prosperity? It's not like going up a tax bracket decreases your after-tax income.
  • @prognosys why do I get this feeling that you don't pay taxes? Progressive tax rates ring a bell? The more you make the more you pay
• @ctarbell03 But the taxes aren't retroactive; if you make $250,001, then you only get taxes extra on the $1.
  • @prognosys simple tax law 101: (w/o deductions/exemptions/AMT) effective tax rate on 10k = 11% | 50k = 17% | 250k = 27% | 400k = 30%
  • @prognosys I don't get how you don't see that the more you make the more you pay?
• @ctarbell03 In laissez faire capitalism,rich people employ poor people cheaply. luck determines who starts rich/poor. inequal opp. #p2 #tcot
  • @DavidalBarron luck has nothing to do with being successful, self-determination and work ethic generates wealth #p2 #tcot

Socialists, leftists, statists whatever you like to call them are really starting to scare me.  They truly believe that those who CHOSE to work should pay for those who REFUSE to work.

"The problem with Socialism is that, eventually, you run out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher

Capitalism, self-determination and self-responsibility have made the United States the super power that she is today and the two-hundred plus years we have worked for will be undone by this complete disregard for the founding principles.  The Constitution of the United State of America states that the government is there “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”  Isn’t punishing a certain group of people with a heavy tax burden a form of oppression of liberty?  Isn’t inciting class warfare a violation of insuring domestic tranquility?  Can anyone find where it states the newly found ‘guarantee of employment’ or ‘fundamental right to a high standard of living’? 

I always thought that in order to succeed in wealth generation; one must first work.  I guess I was wrong.