Essay: Robbing from the rich to give to the poor...

by Chris Kling; writer, columnist, poet and songwriter on Thursday, April 21, 2011

 

"There's two sides to every coin". How often have you heard that?: Let's look at a fistful of coins I've got in mind right now:

Rich/Poor


Haves/Have-nots


Producers/Consumers


Givers/Takers

Which one in each of these pairings would you like to belong to? Would you really truly prefer to be a poor, have-not, who only can only consume that which you take from others? Or is it truly noble to be a producer, to have wealth - wealth being the benefit and reward for that which you have produced - so that you can freely give to those truly in need?IF you have honestly answered that you're happy being poor, having nothing of your own, consuming only that which other people give to you, then I pity you.But - if you have answered, "Who wouldn't want to be rich, able to reap the rewards of producing something everyone else wants, and be able to give freely to others?"... well, then, I've got to ask: are you one of the progressive liberals clamoring to tax the rich more so you can give to the poor? Or are you someone who understands that in order to achieve that wealth, then you will have to focus like a laser-beam upon reaching that goal?I can't understand the mind-set of someone who wants to demonize CEOs but also idolizes movie and music stars. I get thoroughly confuzzled by the people who say "you're too rich, GIVE ME MORE!" And I get embarrassed by rich people who try to tell middle-class people to sacrifice. (Remember Barbra Streisand's hypocrisy in 2003? http://www.counterpunch.org/clarke05312003.html)

What has happened to the nobility of rewarding success? Has it disappeared simply because every kid who plays on the little league team gets a trophy - even though the team finished in last place? Has it disappeared because the value of an A has dropped in reality to what a C was 25 years ago? Has the value of success deflated like it has because even folks on welfare get big screen TVs and iPads and droid phones? Or - has the decreasing value of success been the result of people getting Nobel Peace Prizes because of the promise of success without ever having to deliver that success?I dunno. But I must admit, I'm still waiting for my Grammy.

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ConservativeActionAlerts.com

Tea Party Turning Into A Tidal Wave
Written by CAA Opinion on September 02, 2010, 05:18 PM
http://conservativeactionalerts.com/blog_post/show/997

The defeat of Alaska's Lisa Murkowski by a little-known conservative lawyer is the latest evidence of a tidal wave building that may sweep aside an out-of-touch establishment. "We the people" won't be ignored.


Shays' Rebellion, an uprising of 1,200 farmers led by one Daniel Shays, angry over conditions in Massachusetts in 1786, prompted Thomas Jefferson to write to James Madison that "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing" for America.

A more peaceful rebellion is now occurring across the country, and we believe it's a good thing for America. Considering the excesses of this administration and Congress and their abuse of power to the point of ignoring the Constitution itself, it's also a very necessary thing, an idea whose time has come.

With her concession, Sen. Murkowski became the third incumbent to bite the political dust this season, joining Utah Sen. Bob Bennett and Pennsylvania party switcher Arlen Specter. The old argument about seniority and influence no longer flies among voters who increasingly believe, as Jefferson did, that government is best which governs least.

Joe Miller, a 43-year-old Yale-educated lawyer, West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran, was a little-known Fairbanks attorney before he was endorsed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express.

The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, who knows a little about shaking up the establishment, has become a political power, riding and leading a wave of political discontent with the country's current direction that manifested itself last Saturday at Glenn Beck's "Restore Honor" rally on the National Mall. Palin is woman, hear her roar.


Miller called for slashing federal spending while running for office in a state where federal money plays a huge role in driving the economy. As has happened around the country, the people are telling their government: Don't help us anymore; we can't afford it.

Murkowski was seen by the Tea Party Express as being on the side of big government. Miller targeted her for her support of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), a vote Murkowski said she came to regret.

Certainly energy-rich Alaska has fallen victim to the administration's war on fossil fuels. Vast oil reserves remain locked up in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, though a tiny portion only the size of Reagan National Airport in Washington would need to be developed. Murkowski was the most senior Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but it didn't seem to help.

Offshore reserves in the Chukchi Sea have similarly been placed off-limits in the name of protecting a polar bear population that is thriving and not endangered. Miller has said he would work to get more federal lands into state hands where it can be developed. Saving the earth can wait; saving our jobs comes first.


Murkowski was a state legislator when she was appointed by her father, Frank Murkowski, in 2002 to the Senate seat he was giving up to become governor. Miller and the Tea Party Express called the Murkowskis a royal dynasty that had to go.

Voters have had enough with political dynasties and virtual lifetime tenure for incumbents, and Alaskans decided there was no more a "Murkowski seat" than there was a "Kennedy seat" in Massachusetts, where Scott Brown produced a similar upset.

America was born through a popular uprising that didn't like taxation without representation. It may be reborn from an aroused people unhappy with both their taxation and their representation.