The world is strife with ideological experimentation  in socialism.  Certainly East and West Germany,  North and South Korea, Mainland China and Hong Kong serve as  stark realities as to the perils of trying to “spread the wealth”.  The first American settlers flirted with the Utopian idea of “fairness” only to see it promote slothfulness and deter motivation for productivity.  It was not until land was allocated and the harvest of that land kept by it’s harvester, that society experienced increased production, and advancements in farming.  The idea of “Zero sum gain” says that through capitalism, where two people freely and mutually barter for a product or service, for one person to gain, the other must lose.  This being in step with Barack’s statement to Joe the Plumber “ I do not want to punish your success, but I do not want your success to hold back the advancement of others”.  But this actually defies the principles of capitalism that a transaction “freely” entered will have benefit for both parties.  Which then subsequently promotes further transaction or progress.  Barack likes to say that leadership and economics  start from the bottom up, however, this philosophy is fundamentally lacking in merit and rational.  First, how does a leader become a leader by asking the followers what they think.  Does this not contradict the principle of leadership?   Secondly, how does the economy start with the bottom up when the  top is decapitated with higher taxes & more regulation.  If there is no top, how do you feed the bottom?  This defies logic and the basis for which any society has progressed.  This assumes that for the business owner to succeed, his employees must not.  But this cannot be true in a true capitalistic society where the consumer demands the best service and the best product at the best price.  You need only look at the fact that there are 25% more millionaires today, than eight years ago (excluding any value for primary residence). (Spectrem Group).   I suppose that it is human nature to always justify why the other guy has more than you, by tearing the other guy down – we make ourselves feel better by trying to make the other guy look bad.  However, while painting this illusion of self righteousness, we are ostracizing the system that provides for us a higher standard of living than any generation  before us has ever enjoyed.  And before you spew your hatred filled rhetoric about what you do not have, take a moment and consider what you do have.   No Life is not fair.  It is not fair that those who refuse to make the efforts and sacrifices required  have an equal voice in demanding an unequal share.  As Booker T. Washington said “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house. “  Just now, these comments are not limited to the black people and admission to the Opera House has been reduced to free.

W. Daniel Tate

Phelan, Ca

760-964-4976