This was a question posted on a Sean Hannity forum. See the original question here: http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=860031&page=24 And my original reply post here: http://forums.hannity.com/showpost.php?p=35599411&postcount=110
Here's my answer:
A Real Answer to a valid question from a 21 yr old.
Okay, here's a real answer from a 42 yr old white woman who absolutely believes in helping the poor, feeding the sick, and empowering the down-trodden -
1. Rich old white guys aren't inherently any better or worse than rich (or poor) young black (or white) guys (or women).
2. What makes a leader's views better or worse than another leader's views is the METHOD by which he/she wants to accomplish his/her goals - because usually, the goals of all of the candidates are the same - help Americans enjoy freedom, safety and prosperity.
3. Obama's proposed policies are essentially communist-central-government policies - but he just doesn't use the "scary" language that you were taught in school. Because, in school, you probably did not read Marx, but just learned about how the Marxist ideas translated into the Russian revolution, or how they were used/abused by Hitler. So, no, our students in grade school, high school and college really don't learn enough about communism to be able to recognize it behind the fluffy language of "universal voluntary _____."
4. So, what 21 year olds have learned in school about communism is that it's bad, and it looks like Tianamen Square, or China - where everyone "worships" the government, where there's constant fear of government informants and middle of the night arrests by the KGB (former USSR secret military policy - speech Nazis), and where there is no freedom of religion.
5. But, what gets left out of that education is that all of that is really just the consequences of a central-government-controlled society and economy. The "re-education" of communist citizens, the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of religion, the military oppression of the people, that's all just the fall-out of having a government that has its hands in everything. The government needs all that other stuff to make sure that the people don't start looking or doing anything outside the government that would jeopardize its central power.
6. After last night's "9/11 Service Forum" at Columbia University, I was just reading Obama's statements on his Service and Education Issues pages on his website. The communist ideas are plastered all over those pages.
7. But first, before we get to the communist ideas, let's deal with money a little bit. And here, let's deal with your initial (implied) disparagement of "the rich." Be aware that what you call "rich" and what Obama will define as "rich" under the tax code are surely 2 different things. I'm sure you're thinking Bill Gates. When Obama says rich, he probably means (if you look @ the numbers, tax bills, etc. that he talks about) people earning more than $60,000.00 per year. I can tell you that in the Northeast, $60G means about $45G after tax. On a $1500 mortgage, 2 car family w/car loans, utilities, food, clothes, insurances, gasoline, etc., a family of 3 or 4 needs about $6G after-tax to live - or about $72G after-tax per year. And, no, you're not going to Disney for family vacations on that money. So, a NE family of 3 or 4 is not making it in reality - but in Obama tax bills, they are considered "rich."
If you want to learn more about being rich (indepently wealthy where your passive income exceeds your monthly expenses) (which I hope you do - because having a big heart and a big bank account are NOT mutually exclusive), read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" & play the Cash Flow 101 game.
8. Staying on the money theme, review Obama's issue pages, and take note of all of the places where it says that "Obama will create ..." Everytime it says that, what it really means is that the US Government will use THE CITIZEN'S TAX MONEY for this thing or that thing. Now, go down the list and check off every feel-good thing that you like that he's going to create and that we do not currently have. How many check marks do you have? Now, multiply that by 3 billion dollars. Why? Because none of those programs can really be adequately funded by less than that. Now, how many times have you heard Obama complain about the deficit? Well, his policies will increase the deficit by the billions (or trillions) of dollars that you just calculated.
9. Now, spending money is sometimes good - if it's an investment. But, beware of "investment in our future ____" really meaning "paying money to citizens which will just enforce their entitlement mentality." It's the hand-up versus hand-out distinction.
10. And, while on taxes, remember that 40% of Americans don't currently pay taxes. I would be surprised if anyone making $40,000 or below pays any federal income tax. In fact, in reviewing some tax returns of some of my clients (I'm an attorney), I have been noticing that more and more, people are not only NOT paying any taxes, but they are getting money FREE from the government - in the form of "Earned Income Credit."
Okay, so here's what you've just learned. Those middle-income workers that you keep hearing Obama say he wants to protect from taxes - they don't pay any taxes. Yes, federal income tax is taken out of their paychecks (because the individual person has chosen to have that done), and then, they get 100% of that money back from the US govt in April when they file their returns. AND, in addition, the US govt ALSO sends them back EVEN MORE MONEY. It's called "Earned Income Credit" (EIC) and it's the 21st century version of welfare.
Now, that leaves 60% of the rest of us - the $60G and up. Just so you know, I paid about 5% in federal taxes last year - without any corporate or other loopholes of any kind - just your basic filing (and I made a little more than $60G but less than Gates - and that's a DARN low tax rate! If you want to check this out, check out the tax rates under the Carter years (1977 - 1980).
And, if you were good at math in school, you've probably also figured out that 5% of Americans pay 95% of our government's total income tax revenue (well, those aren't exactly the figures, but it's the general idea). So, when we're talking about "bigger" tax cuts for the "rich," what we're really saying is just logical mathematical formulas. Cutting the government's personal income tax revenues means telling people they can pay less, and if most of the revenues are coming from a few people, then it's those few people who are going to pay less. The 40% of Americans who don't pay taxes - and who are already getting free money from the US govt called an EIC - CAN'T pay any LESS because they already pay 0.
11. When you get a really big government and put its fingers in the middle of everything - in the name of helping out all the distressed people - and you take more and more money from the people - and you add bureacracy - and you take control away from the people and place the control into the big central government, now you've got a communist thing going on.
12. And here's what it would sound like in 21st c America -
Enable All Americans to Serve
Integrate Service into Learning
Invest in the Nonprofit Sector
(from Obama's website)
- ENABLE ALL AMERICANS TO SERVE - Americans don't need to be enabled to serve. There are TONS of service opportunities around you. Set up coffee and donuts at your place of worship. Clean the bathrooms at a homeless shelter. Sell stuff on eBay and donate to your favorite charity. Start your own homeless shelter (I personally know someone who did this completely without the govt's help). Volunteer with LVA and teach ESL or reading. The opportunities are endless - AND AMERICANS are very empowered already - to serve/volunteer - as evidenced by the fact that we now have the highest volunteer rate in history. . . . So, then, what does this bullet point (and the details which Obama recites below it) really mean? Because, it appears to address a "problem/issue" that is really a myth (as I just discussed). Okay, here's what it really means: I, Obama, want to create a large-central-beaurocratic-governement through which all volunteers/servers must go through. Also, if the beauracratic agency overseeing "volunteerism" deems that all citizens don't have an "equal" opportunity to volunteer, then the govt will compensate (pay) them to "volunteer," and the way that the govt will do that is to take the tax revenue from the 60% that are paying taxes and volunteering, and reimburse those who "can't afford" to volunteer for their "lost wages."
See how many things that communist plan just accomplished?
1. It changed the place of the FREEDOM OF CHOICE from you, the individual, to the central governement. Do this, and the American Volunteerism Spirit will immediately disappear.
2. It made the Government the FILTER.
3. It made the Governement in control of definitions.
4. It made the Governement in control of whether people feel empowered or not.
There's not room here to analyze the rest. But you can do it.
13. Hopefully, this helps you see the real meaning behind the words; helps you see the distinctions and purposes of a big v. small govt.
14. FWIW, I believe Obama is a good man who would be shocked to see the horrible real-life results 20 years from now of his well-intended plans.
And remember, even though he says (a lot) that America is great because of its history of self-reliance and personal responsibility, his policies are not in alignment with those principals.
All the Best to you.
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