Posted by
TOTA on Thursday, October 16, 2008 2:15:07 AM
WHAT IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT
The Overlord seeks to tie the middle class to government. He wants to make them dependent upon regular checks from the government for this or that, so that in every election, the left can say, "The Republicans will take away ________________."
They've done it with social security for the last 75 years. Chile instituted a private system years ago and the median Chilean has much greater wealth than the median American, but we're too stupid to do it effectively here, if you listen to The Overlord. In reality, he will oppose anything that takes power out of the hands of government and puts it directly in the hands of individuals.
The Overlord wants dependency - they want you to be dependent upon government and to turn away from self-reliance and private associations for support.
On every level, the left seeks to drive wedges between humans and every other source of support and succor: family, community, state, employer, house of worship. The federal government interjects itself in all of these relationships, and seeks to draw every person into the orbit of the state.
They see in society - as it is - great injustice. Some have much, some have little. When The Overlord and his wife speak of America as it is and America as it ought to be, this is what they are talking about - the unequal distribution of wealth. The unequal distribution of effort is irrelevant to them, a side note that is way down on the list of reasons for unequal wealth. And since there is no God and this world is all we will ever experience, the unequal distribution of material security and goods and pleasures is intolerable. Get it? This is all about philosophy, all about fairness. It's not about growing the economy so that a greater and cheaper abundance is available to all. It's not about maximizing the effort of all. It's about the end result, because that's all there is.
That's also why things like voter fraud do not trouble the left, and why they refuse every effort to control it - people have to produce ID to buy a beer, approach the state, cash a check, and often to use a credit card. But it is an undue burden on the poor to require people to have photo ID when voting. Rampant voter fraud is fine with the left because _the entire system is so unfair_ that any means are justified to change it. A little cheating is nothing.
Think twice before surrendering your independence. With dependence comes self-loathing, then self-justification, then a feeling of entitlement and hatred of the hand that feeds you. It's not good for your soul, for your pride, or for your future.
The Overlord speaks as if we presently do nothing for anyone who is hurting. The federal government budget amounts to over $3 trillion of a $14 trillion economy - that doesn't count state and local government, nor future obligations for which we are putting away nothing. Of that $3 trillion, well over half is direct payments to citizens to address various needs. The list of human needs and wants is endless.
You can tax all the millionaires and billionaires at 80% and not get enough to fund The Overlord's plans for larger government. The idea that the 'rich' avoid taxes through loopholes was once true, but is no longer true, the top 5% of earners pay more than 53% of all income taxes. Most in that category pay a combined 50% plus of their income to federal, state, and local taxes. That's not 'progressive' enough for The Overlord. How much of a person's workday can the government lay claim to before the taxpayer starts to wonder if they can afford an extended vacation?
The problem is not too little government. We already have a massive government. The Overlord's scalpel will do little to trim it down, certainly not enough to cover the additional $1 trillion plus he seeks to spend on new government transfer payments to the middle class. Not tax cuts, mind you. It's all about tax credits - you get the money, but only if you behave in ways The Overlord wants to promote. Allowing an actual rate cut which would leave people free to spend the money as they see fit is outside the worldview of The Overlord.
Control and dependency.
TOTA