Skeeter,
My father sold shoes in a very poor neighborhood. That was my first job too. I started when I was 16. My mother cleaned a dentist's office and then became a bank teller later in life.
My family used to argue every month about how to pay the bills. I wore "hand me down" clothes as a child. We always owned a car that was only 75-25 to make it wherever we were going. I never had a vacation as a child other than a weekend in the Catskills in a cheap motel with a pool (and I loved it).
I have no disdain for the working class, but I do think $1 in my hands is worth more than $1 in my parents hands (for example). When they realized that and started taking my advice, they had more $1s. ;-)
What I have is a desire for an environment that maximizes the chances that a reasonably bright, hard working, prudent living person like myself can claw himself out of his circumstances and become economically comfortable (like I have).
I think it's obvious that low taxes, rapid economic growth, economic freedom, less government etc... help achieve that.
It's doesn't matter to me if that kind of environment helps those on top more because they already have more capital and investments as long as it helps almost everyone. I'm not a jealous person and don't believe in class warfare. I just want the rules to be fair and favorable in order to maximize everyone's chances of increasing their standard of living. By fair, I mean equal for all (no bailouts for the rich and connected, no using government programs to enrich yourself, no using the monetary system to rape and pillage etc..)
Many of the things I hate about our current system are not really capitalist even though they are sold to us as that by people on the left trying to score points. They are examples of individual capitalists "using government and its institutions" to enrich themselves at our expense. That just gives me another reason to hate government and it's expansion. Expanded government gives rotten people like that another chance to make unfair rules with bought and paid for politicians and/or to create institutions that make things less fair.
If I have any disdain, it's for people that are already rich that cheat and/or use government to take advantage of the people on the bottom. Other than that I don't care how many billions they make as long as they do it by having a better product, cheaper product of equal quality, better marketing strategy, allocating capital better etc...
The problem is how to take care of those at the bottom that weren't blessed with the intelligence and natural abilities to achieve, those born under terrible circumstances, and those that have emotional and health problems that make life more difficult for them and their family etc.... I have first hand experience with this too (and it's current).
I would prefer as much of that to be done privately as is possible. I think more would be done privately if we encouraged giving (like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have been doing). We need to change the way people "think about" and "measure" themselves. If we ever get there, I think we'll find we can do things more efficiently/effectively and in a way that reflects the values of the givers (even if there are some other problems).
In the mean time, I have no problem with government filling the gaps in spots when and where it has to - but only as long as it HAS to and where it HAS to. I also think these government programs need to promote positive behavior and not just hand over resources.
More resources = More potential help. |
