Posted by
Mick O. on Thursday, February 14, 2008 3:35:06 PM
Glenn Beck prompted this update. Apparently he debated a "pinhead progressive", as the woman described herself, who wanted to discuss the positive aspects of socialism. From what I can tell, Glenn's response was that history has proved that every attempt at this form of government has failed. Although I am not an insider, I gleaned that the woman finally came around... But I am not sure.
Here's the deal. As a recovered socialist from the 60's, I now see the folly of my ways. I was envious of those rich people because of what they had, not because of what they had contributed. In other words, I was a sixties hippie scumbag musician caught up in a hedonistic world of sex, drugs and alcohol, and rock and roll. It was all about my pleasure and screw the rest of the world. But what was my contribution and was I being compensated for it? Probably.
At 40 in 1989, I became a recovered alcoholic (I know the popular term is recovering, but the Big Book says recovered) by working the steps of the program and came to believe in 1992 that Bill Clinton was the man to change things in Washington. About 2 years into his term, I realized that a politician could say anything and usually is not held accountable by the media (because they LIE for liberals).
That's when I started listening to Rush Limbaugh. I hated him at first and would yell obscenities at the radio before turning it off. My liberal mindset and decisions were being challenged, and I didn't like it. But for some reason I was drawn back to the show, mostly because it aired on my sports channel, and I was probaby waiting for a baseball game. I am not sure when the light came on; it was probably about taxes and the fact that people voting Democrat was the reason they kept increasing. Sure, they said they would only tax the rich. I was all for that because I was poor. Get those rich guys. Problem is, in the eyes of the IRS, I was also considered rich... only I didn't know it. I mean I must have been because at $22,000 a year I was only taking home about 60% of my paycheck, and I had a daughter to feed and clothe.
I have always had a resentment toward the IRS and would like nothing more than to see it abolished and replaced with the Fair Tax, but if politicians can't take money and redistribute to buy votes, what are they going to do??? And Democrats are the worst of the bunch. This doesn't let Republicans off the hook since there are a lot of tax and spend RINOS (Republicans In Name Only) out there, but the Conservative Ideal should be lower taxes, smaller government, less government intervention in our lives and more personal responsibility. If it gets the government out of it, I am for it... in most cases.
When people complain about the money we are spending on the military and security, I laugh and say that this is about the only thing the government is spending money on that is justified by the constitution! All this other social spending is just that; socialism. But because the people who are benefiting from government giveaway programs also get to vote, these programs continue into perpetuity whether they work or not.
As a socialist I was a hard worker. That's why I thought it was unfair that other people made millions while I only made thousands. And a lot of people who still tout socialism as the way to go are probably hard workers and are looking at it from their vantage point. Let's take one example.
I am close to real estate, and I am surprised at the number of liberals who are Realtors. Granted it is San Francisco, but if ever the work ethic abounds, it is in these people. I often hear them say they are happy to pay taxes to support these programs and that we should pay our fair share. Great. Problem is, I don't agree and we are lumped into those who either don't care, or are happy to send money along to Washington. Because they have a majority of elected officials who agree with them, I am forced to go along with it.
But let's take socialism a bit further. What do you think these same Realtors would say if the Federal Government put a limit on what they could make in commission for selling a house. Right now they get 2.5-3% of the sales price. But the Feds could easily say that's too much because it causes housing inflation. In fact, Obama recently blamed Realtors for the current housing mess because they are running up the prices of housing. Can you believe it? Truth be told, buyers and sellers are running up prices because they think the values are there.
I almost wish someone would propose such legislation so I could hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the San Francisco Board of Realtors. After all, if the Federal Government can go after CEOs and limit their salaries, why can't they go after Realtors who are making a boat load of money on every sale? Why not decide on an amount per sale to give to the Realtor and give the rest to a fund that provides services to the homeLESS? It's sort of related to real estate, is it not? After all, Hillary Clinton has proposed the Federal Government take the "windfall profits" of the oil companies and put it into an alternative energy fund. So how is real estate any different? Big OIL versus Big Real Estate!
So now I come to my final observation. Let's talk about all the jobs where a "tip jar" is involved. Did you know that Democrats and some RINOs decided some time ago that service people had to declare a certain percentage of their wages as tips (whether they earned them or not) and pay tax on that? These are the people who they say they are trying to help. The poor minimum wagers. And who do the poor minimum wagers keep electing? The Democrats and RINOs because when these liberals keep talking about taxing the rich, they do not think they are in that category. But they are.
I challenge anyone to look at their paycheck stub, regardless of income. You will find that roughly 50% is taken every pay period for governement purposes. At the end of the year, most of these people only get a small percentage of that back as a refund, if any. In fact, most people end up paying! Now who's RICH? And do you know who's getting that money? Agencies that give services to homeless, unemployed and often illegal aliens who have never paid a dime into the system.
But you might say, "it's the compassionate thing to do." Feed a man or woman a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach the man or woman to fish and you feed them for a lifetime. Giving people money is only a temporary fix. If they use it to learn to fish, then I am all for it.