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Thank you for stopping by for a visit. You are invited to read and comment on anything posted on this blog. I advocate the maximum amount of Personal and Economic Liberty, consistent with the defense of individual rights. I am fiscally conservative yet socially tolerant, I favor lower taxes, free trade, individual rights, strong national defense and limited government. I subscribe to the Freedom Fighters Creed: I am an American Patriot, defender of the Constitution, First Principles and Essential Liberty.

I believe that buried deep down inside every Conservative you'll find a Libertarian - And Inside Every Liberal Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out.

"One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors" - Plato

FYI any crude or vulgar comments will be removed from the blog.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

How to Think about Inequality

The issue of income inequality has never before been central to American politics. Though concern for the poor, disputes over welfare programs, and complaints about "the rich" have of course featured prominently in our public debates, Americans have generally avoided open class warfare, to the nation's great credit and benefit. But in the 2012 presidential election — one of the most consequential contests in decades — the divide between rich and poor in America promises to be a focal point.

This unusual emphasis on inequality is partly the doing of President Obama, who seems to believe that stoking class resentments is his best ticket to re-election. In a much-discussed speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, in December 2011, Obama argued that income inequality "distorts our democracy." He said that "breathtaking greed" had contributed to America's economic troubles and that this was a "make-or-break moment for the middle class." The president insisted that the kind of "gaping inequality" we are experiencing "gives lie to the promise that's at the very heart of America: that this is a place where you can make it if you try."

Extending the theme to his 2012 State of the Union address, Obama presented the "defining issue of our time" as a choice: "restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," or "settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by." The Washington Post understood the president's message exactly, and summarized it in the next morning's front-page headline: "Obama: Nation must address inequality." CONTINUE READING

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