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Campaign against the Rich In the political campaign that ends one short month from now, one candidate styles himself as the Robin Hood of the 21st Century. He'll take from the Rich to give to the ... Middle Class Working Families. He's clearly portrayed Rich People as "the enemy".
Here are some thoughts on "the Rich" from one Middle-Class Working Person:
$$ > The Federal Government is richer than anyone. In fact, the Federal Government is richer than everyone else combined! When politicans promise to "help us" by keeping even more money in Washington, under the control of the Federal Government's "lock box", they're promising to help the Richest one of all get even Richer.
$$ > We can take a Rich Person to court if they do something wrong to us. Almost every day we read headlines in the paper about someone who hit the Jackpot with a jury and won millions from a Rich Person. Packs of lawyers are constantly circling those Rich People, looking for their chance to hit that Jackpot. Have you ever tried to take the Federal Government to court?
$$ > The Federal Government can threaten you -- and hurt you -- a lot worse than any Rich Person. Who's gotten away with more in the last eight years: Rich People like Bill Gates, or powerful Washington politicians like ... well, you know.
$$ > The Federal Government doesn't "create" anything unless it contracts with the private sector. By itself, it only runs tollgates and checkpoints for the rest of us (and charge us for the privilege). The only jobs the Federal Government "creates" are for bureaucrats who police the rest of us. Now, we all realize there's a need for policemen to find and punish the bad people and protect the good people. But just how many more policemen do you want? Would you like to have four policeman stationed around your home, with another tapping your phone line, another reading your mail, another watching over your doctor and pharmacist and another approving your purchases at the store? You may feel more safe with all of those policemen -- but only if you can trust the policemen! Just don't do anything that looks suspicious, or they'll have to bring you in for questioning. One more thing: to help them do their jobs, they need you to fill out a few more forms. (There's a tradeoff, you see, between Safety and Freedom.)
$$ > Let's admit it: millions of jobs *have* been created in the past eight years. Politicans brag about them and point this out with pride. In fact, those jobs were "created" by new and growing businesses -- businesses owned by Rich People. Rich People start companies and invest in new companies -- that creates new jobs for the rest of us. It also brings the rest of us new and better products and services for lower prices. How so? Don't Rich People spend their money to buy things for themselves? How does that affect the rest of us? Well, money spent by Rich People goes to companies and individuals in the construction, travel, restaurant, furniture, automotive, appliance, recreation, clothing, financial services, food & beverage, telecommunications and any number of other industries, providing even more jobs and opportunities for the rest of us. Anyone who works in the private sector will tell you that their company makes a higher profit margin selling things to Rich People than it does to the rest of us. Rich People can afford to pay higher prices. Those fat profits help these same companies to provide low-priced products and services (at very thin profit margins) to the rest of us. In effect, the spending of Rich People subsidizes things the rest of us buy for ourselves. (Incidentally, this is why some politicians strongly oppose letting anyone out of the Medicare health care system, the Social Security system, and the public school systems. Those systems need the subsidies that come from high prices paid by Rich People and Middle Class Working Families).
$$ > Which would you rather have: A Rich Doctor, or a Poor one? A Rich Lawyer, or a Poor one? Who will be there for you -- the doctor or lawyer who lives week-to-week, in debt above their head, or the one who's well-off? Would you rather have a Rich Boss, or a poor one? Who is more likely to provide you with good benefits and job security? If you live in an apartment or a rented home, who is better able (and more likely) to keep up with the maintenance and improvements your home needs -- a Rich Landlord or a poor one? Who's more likely to jack up your rent -- a Rich Landlord, or the Bank that repossessed your property from a Poor Landlord? Would you rather have a Rich Broker, Investment Advisor, and Insurance Agent, or poor ones? How can they help you improve your finances if they can't improve their own?
$$ > The United States has more Rich People than any other country in the world, and that wonderful fact shows what a great country we have. Other societies that hate and envy Rich People drive them away. When those Rich People leave their country, they take their money with them. That hurts the people left behind! Rich People around the world love to put their money into the United States. And when they bring their money here to exchange for things, property, companies, services and experiences, all of us Americans become a little Richer. Now that money is in American hands to be invested and spent here. What's very interesting is that Poor People also love to move to the United States. They know that if you're starting out poor, you stand a better chance of *becoming* a Rich Person (or a Middle Class Working Family) in the United States of America than anywhere else on earth.
$$ > Despite what you've heard in the last eight years, "Taxes" and "Investments" are two very different things. Taxing always involves TAKING. Taxing is always backed up by a policeman with a gun who will force you to hand over your money if you're slow about it. The Federal Government cannot spend one dollar without TAKING it from someone else. When politicians promise to spend money to solve some problem that worries you, they are promising to TAKE money from you and others, directly or indirectly. Don't confuse that with an "Investment". An Investment is a voluntary decision by a person who has more money than what they need right away (i.e. a Rich Person) to take a risk in hopes of getting even more money back in the future. Many times, that risk they take is met with disappointing results -- they lose their money and get nothing back. Rich People can afford to do that. Poor people can't. Poor people (and even "Middle Class Working Families") can be grateful for the risks that Rich People take with their own money, because those risks provide the jobs and opportunities that the rest of us depend upon. People who own companies are almost all Rich People. (Incidentally, the last eight years have seen more Middle Class Working People become Investors through their IRAs and 401(k) mutual funds than ever before. If you're one of them, you should know that higher taxes mean you'll get *less* money back from your investments in the future, and higher taxes also *increase* the risk that you'll lose *all* the money you've invested. Higher taxes make companies and Rich People less likely to take the risks that create jobs and better products and services.)
$$ > Rich People pay taxes. Poor people don't. Companies that make Big Profits pay taxes on those profits. Struggling companies that are losing money don't pay taxes. The more Rich People and Profitable Companies there are, the more Tax Money the Federal Government takes in. The more Poor People and Money-Losing Companies there are, the less Tax Money the Federal Government takes in, and the more it gives away. The Federal Government is *absolutely dependent* upon Rich People and Profitable Companies. Without Rich People and Profitable Companies, the Federal Government has no Tax Money to spend. But it can't stop spending. So where does the Federal Government get its money then? It just PRINTS it. (Talk to a friend from Russia, South America, Italy or Israel about what happens when the Government prints lots of money. You could also ask someone what it was like to do business or buy a house in the late 70s). For this reason, even people who LOVE everything the Federal Government does, and the wonderful way in which it does it, should want *more* Rich People and Profitable Companies.
$$ > If you're a "working person", it's almost certain that your paycheck comes directly or indirectly from a Rich Person. That Rich Person you work for enables you to put food on the table, put a roof over your head, put a car, boat, motorcycle, camper and bicycles in your garage, clothe your children and send them to college. Who's more likely to *stay* rich: the rock star, the sports figure who just signed a big contract, the lottery winner who just hit the Jumbo Supercash Jackpot -- or -- the Business Owner, the Successful Investor, the Entrepreneur? Who "creates" more jobs? How many jobs does a Union Boss create? Ever notice how many cars the Union Bosses drive, and what brand they own? Ever notice how many of them own nice vacation homes? When did you last check the salary that those Union Bosses pay themselves out of the dues paid by Middle-Class Working People? In short, did you ever notice how many Union Bosses that attack Rich People are *themselves* Rich People?
$$ > More than one hundred years ago, a writer created an entire philosophy based on *dividing* people into three groups: the Rich People, the Poor People, and the Middle Class (Working Families). His name was Karl Marx. A few decades later, another man led a group that took over a large country, and put that philosophy into practice to run the country. His name was Vladimir Lenin. With the help of lots of policemen, he made sure that everyone in his country was equally poor. (Everyone, that is, but the bosses of the policemen.) If you haven't been keeping up with the news, you should know that country no longer exists -- it collapsed a few years ago. You see, it couldn't keep up with the United States of America, the home of more Rich People than the rest of the world combined. It didn't have enough money.
$$ > We have a clear choice on November 7th -- freedom to become even Richer (even if that means letting some people stay Richer than you'll ever be), or more policemen to make us all more equally Poor. There's one guarantee: when *you* pay more taxes, *you* are more poor than you would be otherwise. Check out www.taxclarity.com. The choice is yours. Which direction do you want to go?
Please Note: The Federal Government provides a space on IRS Form 1040 that gives you the opportunity to hand over *more* of your money to the Federal Government than you "owe" them (if your conscience leads you in that direction). But please, for the sake of the Middle Class Working Families -- let the rest of us make our own decision on that, would you? Those Policemen worry us more than those Rich People.
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