This has become a hot topic during this election season and many different ideas have confused the meaning. Historically, in every culture wealth has moved around. After every revolution wealth starts out somewhat widely distributed and over time it always ends up in the hands of a few. America was designed to be different. With it's great resources there has been tremendous "opportunity" through out our history. Several times in our history our government gave away land. The only condition was that you had to "get there" and you had to build on the land. This often involved traveling a great distance, enduring great hardship and sacrifice and intense, back breaking work. Some tried and failed. Others succeeded. Not everyone was willing. Some stayed back in the familiar environment of the eastern cities. This pattern repeats itself in every generation in every family across America. Opportunities exist. The Government gives away free education. The quality is mixed much like the land previously mentioned.
Whether it is land that requires tremendous dedication to develop or skills that are required in our culture today, the burden rests on every individual to make the choices required to achieve their goals. No where in America until the "New Deal" brought about by Franklin Roosevelt as a response to the Great Depression was there ever a "guarantee" of outcome of some set of choices.
We have finally arrived at a time in our history where the hard work of those who put aside short term comfort to increase their income and wealth is now subject to forfeiture against their will in order to transfer that income to others who did not try so hard and chose short term pleasures instead of sacrificing for the future.
Many will say that they didn't feel like going to college. Remember the excuse of not being able to afford college doesn't fly since many institutions are state run and not exhorbitantly expensive. Many people, myself included, worked while going to school, took small loans to pay for tuition and paid them off with the better jobs that they took after graduation. Others may have decided to start a family before gaining the ability to support that family on their own.
No one should be faulted for their choices. This is America. Land of opportunity and choices and freedom. However, this is America not Russia or China. Everyone here is free to choose and free to fail. No one here until recently is required by law to subsidize the choices and failures of others. If this is still truly America then anyone who tries harder, puts aside comfort for some greater goal, delays their family development is entitled to the fruit of their labor. No one else is entitled to it.
Yes there are those who appear to have a headstart in making millions. Still making millions is not the only option. This is not a zero sum culture. Everyone has the opportunity to make something. Our country has created millions of jobs. From minimum wage to billions, the income from these jobs varies. It is not even hard to discover before heading down a path to find out how much these many different jobs pay. It is not hard to find out how much it costs to live in a particular area of the country. A job paying $25k a year allows more options in northern Florida than Southern Florida, in North Carolina than in NYC. Everyone has the right to live where they want if they can afford it. No one has a right to the fruit of someone else's labor.
Many will say that it's not fair that a teacher should make less than a banker. Some may even say that the teacher works harder. However, anyone can find out how much a teacher makes and a banker makes and make a choice based on that what kind of lifestyle they want. But it is Un-American to force the banker to subsidize the lifestyle of the teacher. If the banker has children he is free to pay the teacher what the teacher requires for this service.
It is a tremendous tragedy that our society has come to the point where at least 45% of the culture believes that income redistribution is a right and good thing. I suppose that this is not surprising when the top 40% of income earners in this country PAY 97% OF ALL FEDERAL INCOME TAXES. Did you know that?
As Christians we are called to be generous. Even before Jesus came to John the Baptist, John was teaching them that a sign of a person of God was that if you have 2 coats you ought to give one to someone who has none. God's people are generous. However, that is about philanthropy and charity. Everyone feels good about that including the giver. No one feels good about having their income taken away by force (all legislation is force) and given to others who did not work as hard, or sacrifice without any accountability for better behavior by the recipient.
We have arrived at a place in this country where hard work and sacrifice are punished by the confiscation of the fruit of that labor and that fruit is given to those who do not work as hard or sacrifice. The sad part is that many will believe and say that they do work hard and sacrifice. But their definition doesn't match. If you want to improve your lifestyle then you should be working every hour you aren't sleeping. That's what successful people do. Successful people do not live off the fruit of someone else's labor.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Finding Success I
Showing up is more than half of success. This sounds so simple but in reality it is harder than you think, apparently. Any of you who have your own business' and have to hire people know what I talking about. I hear the complaint often from small business' about how hard it is to get people just to show up for their appointed schedule. We hear excuses like they overslept, they had a flat tire, they had to take their pregnant sister to the doctor. Remarkably, someone who shows up consistently, regardless of other skills often receives a promotion.
Showing up isn't just about keeping a job. How many people have you heard say that they wish that they had more friends? Yet often they are not willing to "show up" where friends can be made. In my travels I hear people comment that they did not like Florida when they moved here for awhile because they didn't have any friends. Yet friends can easily be made at church, classes, community functions, etc. Making friends is not just difficult at home, it may be impossible. Making friends while shopping is possible but probabilities are low. It may even be difficult to make friends with neighbors depending on your community. But "showing up" to activities with people of common interest has a very high success rate for making friends.
I seem to be in tremendous company in this last area where "showing up" can bring success. The gym. If I show up there I am highly likely to achieve the success I desire. Yet I find plenty of reasons to keep that from happening. Am I alone in that? I know that when I show up at a restaurant that I am going to achieve the results that I came there for. The same is true of the gym. I even find that if I get there once or twice I am likely to continue for awhile until that chain of showing up is broken.
If we desire a closer relationship with God showing up is still the key. Of course I'm not referring to showing up in heaven. But God is present with us everywhere, everyday. He has shown up in our lives for fellowship with us. We can "show up" with Him by prayer, reading the Bible, worship and spending time with other's who share your desire. As with the gym I find that a day or two put together will often keep me going in this pattern for awhile until something breaks the chain. I've started and stopped, started and stopped. Yet showing up remains the key.
Showing up is more than half of success. Notice that it will not take you all the way to success whether it's in your job, in making friends, taking off those pounds, or growing in your relationship with God. However, without showing up the rest is guaranteed never to happen.
Showing up isn't just about keeping a job. How many people have you heard say that they wish that they had more friends? Yet often they are not willing to "show up" where friends can be made. In my travels I hear people comment that they did not like Florida when they moved here for awhile because they didn't have any friends. Yet friends can easily be made at church, classes, community functions, etc. Making friends is not just difficult at home, it may be impossible. Making friends while shopping is possible but probabilities are low. It may even be difficult to make friends with neighbors depending on your community. But "showing up" to activities with people of common interest has a very high success rate for making friends.
I seem to be in tremendous company in this last area where "showing up" can bring success. The gym. If I show up there I am highly likely to achieve the success I desire. Yet I find plenty of reasons to keep that from happening. Am I alone in that? I know that when I show up at a restaurant that I am going to achieve the results that I came there for. The same is true of the gym. I even find that if I get there once or twice I am likely to continue for awhile until that chain of showing up is broken.
If we desire a closer relationship with God showing up is still the key. Of course I'm not referring to showing up in heaven. But God is present with us everywhere, everyday. He has shown up in our lives for fellowship with us. We can "show up" with Him by prayer, reading the Bible, worship and spending time with other's who share your desire. As with the gym I find that a day or two put together will often keep me going in this pattern for awhile until something breaks the chain. I've started and stopped, started and stopped. Yet showing up remains the key.
Showing up is more than half of success. Notice that it will not take you all the way to success whether it's in your job, in making friends, taking off those pounds, or growing in your relationship with God. However, without showing up the rest is guaranteed never to happen.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Untimely End
My best friend passed over last weekend. 11 years and an untimely end. Diagnosed with Cancer 3 months ago. Remedial therapy added only months. Some say that he could not feel the loyalty of his canine counterparts yet...he met me at the door. He slept on my pillow and my keyboard. He chased the mouse pointer across my screen. He looked at me with the expectancy of a retriever.
He came to me with blue eyes at a time of great solitude from the hands another great friend. We kept each other company while his eyes turned gold until more roommates arrived. Throughout many moves and miles, marriage and other felines we remained devoted to each other. Through many moods and tantrums we loved each other.
He never understood why everyone who met him wanted to pick him up.
Many prayed when the news came back from his surgery but it was not to be. Our timelines are not God's timelines and we don't know what impact events have in the stream of life. We had 3 more months and had to watch as he declined.
We were blessed with 11 years. It's wonderful to be loved by a cat. I was made better by the love of this cat. I am less with his passing.
He came to me with blue eyes at a time of great solitude from the hands another great friend. We kept each other company while his eyes turned gold until more roommates arrived. Throughout many moves and miles, marriage and other felines we remained devoted to each other. Through many moods and tantrums we loved each other.
He never understood why everyone who met him wanted to pick him up.
Many prayed when the news came back from his surgery but it was not to be. Our timelines are not God's timelines and we don't know what impact events have in the stream of life. We had 3 more months and had to watch as he declined.
We were blessed with 11 years. It's wonderful to be loved by a cat. I was made better by the love of this cat. I am less with his passing.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A Man Without a Party
I've been a life-long Republican. I cried when Reagan died. Unfortunately, the conservatism that brought me into the party died with him. I had such great hopes when my party finally gained control of both houses of congress in 1994. Even with a Democratic president we had such great opportunity to return this country to the values of the founders and of the constitution. If it hadn't been for Ross Perot, Bush Sr would have been re-elected and continued the Reagan legacy. Clinton was elected with only 45% of the vote.
However, shortly after taking control, 2 sex scandals forced 2 speakers of the House of Representatives to resign. With the resignation of the last one, Newt Gingrich, the party was lost. Corruption, pork spending, and failure to vote to indict Clinton destroyed what was left of the fiscal and social conservative mantles of Reagan.
I voted for George Bush both times only to have him not use his veto pen in 6 years until the Democrats took over congress again. He signed protectionist legislation in the form of steel import tariffs. He signed the largest highway spending bill in American history. He signed bill after bill put up by the flagrant, pork spenders of his own party. (The "bridge to nowhere" was for Senator Ted Stevens (R) AK). He failed to campaign hard enough to privatize social security. Admittedly, he really needed the help and courage of his fellow Republicans but they did not have the spine for it. Yes, I was very happy with the tax cuts but again the Republican majority did not have the spine to make them permanent. They compromised with the socialist Democrats and put an expiration date on the cuts. Even so the Republicans, including Bush, did not cut spending at the same time as they cut the gov't revenue. So gov't grew enormously under their watch.
I confess that I believed him when he told us that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. I believed that Hussein should not be allowed to thumb his nose at the whole world. I trusted that the President had the best intelligence available in the world. I no longer believe that. I do believe that a new brand of Republican, the NeoCon, had taken over the Administration and was trying to conduct a new "Manifest Destiny" in the world exporting our values everywhere. Don't get me wrong I do believe wholeheartedly in the values of our constitution but I don't believe that we are that country anymore.
George Bush and the Republican party of the last 14 years have been a disaster and have set the stage for a Democratic party sweep this November and a return to the socialist values of the Great Sociey. It is very likely, that the next congress will be filibuster proof. That is, that the Democratic party will have enough senators to terminate any attempts to filibuster to stop a bill or stop the appointment of judges. We will see continued redistribution of wealth from those who work hard and make good choices in life to the lazy, the sexually flagrant, the irresponsible, the substance abusers and the like.
I no longer have a party of any substance to support. The Libertarian party still has some attraction but has no chance to rise to power. The Republicans have left me as they are no longer the party of Ronald Reagan. There is fundamentally little difference between the parties now. John McCain's values are not much different from Joe Lieberman's. The fact that there are so many Americans who know more about American Idol contestants than how much they pay in taxes or what rights they have in the constitution shows how truly shallow and ignorant this country has become. I am frightened at the growing number of Americans who don't know what the constitution says. How many people believe that healthcare is a right? Show me that in the constitution. If that is a right why not a right to housing, or food, or a car, or a job? Why wouldn't anyone have a right to build their house in a disaster prone area and expect the rest of the country to rebuild it when the inevitable happens?
Where did I put that Constitution? Our Constitution has been lost and replaced from disuse.
I love the idea of America found in the Constitution and the writings of Thomas Jefferson. We are not that country anymore. We have found that we can "vote ourselves money from the treasury" and that will truly be our downfall. Success is no longer admired except as a well from whom we can draw revenue to redistribute to the failures among us.
I am a man without a party and without a country he can believe in.
However, shortly after taking control, 2 sex scandals forced 2 speakers of the House of Representatives to resign. With the resignation of the last one, Newt Gingrich, the party was lost. Corruption, pork spending, and failure to vote to indict Clinton destroyed what was left of the fiscal and social conservative mantles of Reagan.
I voted for George Bush both times only to have him not use his veto pen in 6 years until the Democrats took over congress again. He signed protectionist legislation in the form of steel import tariffs. He signed the largest highway spending bill in American history. He signed bill after bill put up by the flagrant, pork spenders of his own party. (The "bridge to nowhere" was for Senator Ted Stevens (R) AK). He failed to campaign hard enough to privatize social security. Admittedly, he really needed the help and courage of his fellow Republicans but they did not have the spine for it. Yes, I was very happy with the tax cuts but again the Republican majority did not have the spine to make them permanent. They compromised with the socialist Democrats and put an expiration date on the cuts. Even so the Republicans, including Bush, did not cut spending at the same time as they cut the gov't revenue. So gov't grew enormously under their watch.
I confess that I believed him when he told us that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. I believed that Hussein should not be allowed to thumb his nose at the whole world. I trusted that the President had the best intelligence available in the world. I no longer believe that. I do believe that a new brand of Republican, the NeoCon, had taken over the Administration and was trying to conduct a new "Manifest Destiny" in the world exporting our values everywhere. Don't get me wrong I do believe wholeheartedly in the values of our constitution but I don't believe that we are that country anymore.
George Bush and the Republican party of the last 14 years have been a disaster and have set the stage for a Democratic party sweep this November and a return to the socialist values of the Great Sociey. It is very likely, that the next congress will be filibuster proof. That is, that the Democratic party will have enough senators to terminate any attempts to filibuster to stop a bill or stop the appointment of judges. We will see continued redistribution of wealth from those who work hard and make good choices in life to the lazy, the sexually flagrant, the irresponsible, the substance abusers and the like.
I no longer have a party of any substance to support. The Libertarian party still has some attraction but has no chance to rise to power. The Republicans have left me as they are no longer the party of Ronald Reagan. There is fundamentally little difference between the parties now. John McCain's values are not much different from Joe Lieberman's. The fact that there are so many Americans who know more about American Idol contestants than how much they pay in taxes or what rights they have in the constitution shows how truly shallow and ignorant this country has become. I am frightened at the growing number of Americans who don't know what the constitution says. How many people believe that healthcare is a right? Show me that in the constitution. If that is a right why not a right to housing, or food, or a car, or a job? Why wouldn't anyone have a right to build their house in a disaster prone area and expect the rest of the country to rebuild it when the inevitable happens?
Where did I put that Constitution? Our Constitution has been lost and replaced from disuse.
I love the idea of America found in the Constitution and the writings of Thomas Jefferson. We are not that country anymore. We have found that we can "vote ourselves money from the treasury" and that will truly be our downfall. Success is no longer admired except as a well from whom we can draw revenue to redistribute to the failures among us.
I am a man without a party and without a country he can believe in.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
You might not believe in freedom...
You might not believe in freedom if ....
1) you believe that the gov't is the answer to anything.
2) believe that anyone should pay more taxes than you.
3) believe anything a politician says.
4) believe that it's unfair for anyone to have more stuff than you.
5) believe police can protect you from crime.
6) believe that the gov't wants to protect you from anything.
7) believe that you have a right to
a) a job
b) healthcare
c) a mortgage
d) food
8) believe everyone doesn't have the right to do with their property as they choose.
9) believe that it's the gov't's job to keep people from hurting themselves with drugs or alcohol or a gun or their car.
10) believe that the gov't should force everyone to wear a seatbelt.
11) believe that parents should not have a choice about which school their child should go to.
12) believe that the gov't has a huge pool of money.
13) believe that the gov't should rebuild your house after a disaster.
14) you ever said the words "There ought to be a law."
Freedom is the practice of living out any personal choice without limitation except as it interferes with the freedom of another. You may choose to purposely limit yourself, perhaps wisely, but if you believe that your choices should be legislated for all then YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN FREEDOM. You may be an an American citizen by accident of birth or by criminal invasion but YOU ARE NOT AN AMERICAN IN SPIRIT.
Legislation is looking to the gov't to fix your life. Everytime you do that you surrender your freedom and that of others. Legislation used to be the last resort of the impotent and weak now it's the first step.
If you don't like the Spirit of Freedom, then go somewhere where you will feel safer but know that you will be less free.
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