A Not Very Bright Robin Hoodwink

I’ll tell you what Greed is. Greed is coveting and then taking what somebody else earned and owns that you didn’t earn and don’t own. That’s greed. In some quarters, it’s called burglary. Sometimes it’s called mugging. Other times it’s called extortion. But it’s still thievery by any other name.

The San Diego-Union Times has a concise argument against the Robin Hood concept.

We should point out that the Real Robin Hood took back from the rich that which the rich stole from the poor. He is not to be confused with Robin Hoodwink.

Robin Hoodwink wants to just take what belongs to somebody else and give it to those to whom these things never belonged–and some of whom haven’t always exactly worked very hard either.

Perhaps they haven’t gone to night school after work, paid for it themselves and inched their way to a degree or better job training. They haven’t gone home at night worrying about how to pay the business bills, make payroll or meet customer deadlines. They haven’t taken The Risk. They don’t hold the loan paper. Or perhaps they just plain made their own crappy life decisions, never saved a dime, borrowed to buy things they couldn’t afford, prefer to work at jobs that don’t interfere with their free time. All of these things will guarantee lack of financial success. To be sure, there are plenty of people who deserve the help of all of us who have a conscience. The disabled comes to mind. I’m not talking about the ones with the fake back injuries because God knows we all know several people in that category as well.

The point is, you don’t get to share in profits if you aren’t willing to share in the risk. This is something most sensible employees already comprehend. Unfortunately, they too will reap the punishment of this attempt to destroy capitalism in the last real refuge for those who have left other countries to get away from the concept of the Government in charge of your life and your financial growth.

There isn’t a soul reading this who doesn’t know someone who had a bad start in life, was born dirt poor, but had the ambition and fortitude to succeed. That’s what’s great about America. You can do that if you have the ambition, persistence and desire–if you are willing to make sacrifices and put the time into doing what has to be done in order to grow.

Although the goal of Barack Obama is clearly Socialism by any sensible definition, this silly notion (to mimic a word Obama uses whenever he gets caught at something–which is often) will create an historical unemployment percentage, not seen since the Great Depression. Government jobs will be artificially created, a doomed idea, considering somebody has to pay for those jobs.

The very rich have already figured out how to circumvent socialism. They didn’t get very rich being stupid. The small business owner also knows how to recover the cut in their own take-home pay: Unlike Barack Obama, who never ran a thing in his life and has spent most of his time on the government take, they built their businesses into successes on their own and they generally don’t take kindly to entrenched politicians telling them to give up the fruits of their labors and sacrifices. So they have other ways to circumvent greedy socialist politicians. It’s called raising prices, contract outsourcing to companies to avoid employee benefit payouts – and layoffs. I anticipate that most of these small business owners will figure out a way to make $249k just to get some of their own handout back to spite the idea that someone could turn our Democracy into a pre-Communist country lorded over by a vindictive Totalitarian with smarmy friends, who expects PRAVDA to do his bidding.

Every formerly dead Anti-American fringe party in our country didn’t revive itself to work for Obama for nothing. The leaders of the Marxist-Leninist, Socialist and Communist Parties are thrilled with his candidacy.

Of late, Barack Obama has poked fun at the distaste for this Robin Hoodwink idea. He has said, Since When Is Selfishness a Virtue between snickers and sneers–while speaking of people who gave more to charity last year than he and cheapskate Joe Biden combined. He has snorted about how they might find out that he shared his toys or his peanut butter sandwich when he was a kid.

In spite of Obama’s Narcissistic tendency to imagine he is the only smart person in the world, the reality of his “notion” has not escaped others who are smart enough to circumvent his capitalism-crushing plans.

That will leave the middle class to pay for all the candy. When it comes to voting to tax the middle class, Barack Obama hasn’t even voted “Present” in the past. He has no problem with it. You’ve been warned.

Spread the wealth economics harmful to all

November 1, 2008

At the risk of coming across as selfish and greedy capitalists with not an ounce of concern for the less fortunate, we’d like to put in a good word for the concept of not spreading the wealth.

It’s funny how that chance encounter between Joe the Plumber and Barack the Presidential Candidate and the sound bite it produced dominated the final days of this seemingly interminable campaign. But it turns out that Americans feel very strongly about the Robin Hood politics of taking from the well-off and giving to the economically challenged.

It is not surprising that those who have worked hard, made sacrifices, saved money, started businesses and made payrolls would frown on the idea of a presidential candidate actually boasting that he plans to raise their taxes, if elected, in order to give tax breaks to those who make less money. But it is a little frightening to think that there are so many people on the other side who covet their neighbor’s bank account.

And what’s the cut-off for the tax cuts? No one knows, because Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, can’t settle on a figure. First, it was said that only wage-earners who earned more than $250,000 annually would have their taxes raised. Then Obama, in an interview, lowered the figure to $200,000. Then Biden, in a speech, lowered it to $150,000. Luckily, this campaign is ending. Or we might be headed for a situation where anyone earning more than poverty level gets a tax increase.

But the real problem with Robin Hood economics isn’t just that it is unfair, but also that it’s harmful to the same people it professes to help. Like any handout, it kills incentive and rewards a lack of achievement. And, in this case, by confiscating the assets of the haves, it also punishes initiative and penalizes success.

That’s not a winning formula. In fact, it wouldn’t be good for anyone. And let’s hope we never get a chance to see that for ourselves.