But Trust Fund Baby Kerry Wasn’t Too Rich to be President?
Thomas Lifson noted here yesterday at AT that the Democrats are unrelenting in their attacks on Mitt Romney for his wealth. OK, let’s take a little closer look at that. Mitt Romney can’t possibly be president of this country because he’s too rich, with a net worth in excess of $250 million. This fortune, built up over decades by Romney’s work as one of America’s premier capitalists and corporate creators, is disqualifying because he can’t possibly understand what it is to be just one of the people ?
So says the Democrat Party whose candidate for the presidency in 2004 was John Forbes Kerry, scion of the Forbes dynasty, a man with a net worth of $230 million. And interestingly, said JFK didn’t build his fortune from a fertile nest egg; it came in the form of trust funds from his mother who had married exceedingly well. As did her son, whose spouse, Teresa Heinz, has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. On their combined incomes the struggling Kerry’s manage to maintain the following residences:
Heinz and Kerry live an affluent life. They own a six-floor, $7 million townhome in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, a $9 million ocean-front home on Nantucket, a $5 million ski retreat in Idaho, a $4 million estate in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, near the Heinz family’s home base of Pittsburgh, and a $5 million home in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
So here’s the man of the people, a guy with a six-floor home, that the Democrats tried to run for president in 2004, who is somehow imminently qualified because he inherited a couple of hundred million from mommy, married a billion more from a grieving widow and has never worked a day in his life at building anything except bigger governments; but he’s just a hunky-dory representative of the good ol’ down to earth Democrat Party, a man of the people, right? The hypocrisy of the Democrat Party and their controlled mainstream media propagandists is boundless. What’s worse, they are totally and completely contemptuous in believing that the American public is so stupid that it won’t remember that the Democrat candidate for president in 2004 was a billionaire trust fund baby and gigolo who was so totally out of touch with mainstream America that many voters truly believed he really was French.
Yes, Romney is a son of privilege but he is also a classic example of those who take that privilege as their foundation and build their own better lives and bigger fortunes on top of it. Far too many other children of privilege are like John Forbes Kerry who take their wealth through trust funds or marry into greater wealth and then use it to indulge in an idle, dilettante lifestyle of dabbling in the law and basking in political privilege. We used to call these types aristocrats. Now we call them limousine liberals.
I simply do not fathom the failure of the Romney campaign and the Republican Party to hammer this back at the Democrats every time the Dems cite Romney’s wealth as a disqualifier. Were I an active participant in the campaign, every time some smarmy Democrat brought up Romney’s wealth, I’d respond with, “John Kerry-six floor mansion.” And the Romney campaign ought to damn well have television ads pointing out this gross hypocrisy on the part of the shamelessly brazen Democrat Party. Have the whole of you working for Mitt forgotten the old sales basic about turning a marketing negative into a positive selling point?
C’mon, guys, we, the people, want to win this election.
Category: 2012 election
PTrooper…completely agree! The willful blindness of left-minded thinkers and the fact that they never hold “their” candidates to the same standards is laughable. I hold them to it every time they spew, “how many cars or houses does one person need?” I simply ask them if they demanded the same thing of all past dem candidates and congressmen/women. You’ll believe the answer. As of yesterday, the answer was, “Well those people are not running for President or Congress now”!!
It continues to astound me how the left can justify anything with such childish responses over and over and over again.
Well said. I would add two small points.
First, did Romney not give to charity every dime that he inherited? Isn’t what he and Ann have what they earned from their own sweat? Seems to me that they personify the American dream – take nothing but your own energy and build something significant.
Second, there are plenty of members of Congress currently with whom to compare Romney’s financials. (Of course that includes sKerry.) Comparing to past candidates isn’t the way to go because it just sounds like whining. Perhaps comparing the difference between living lives of luxury (most Americans did not grow up doing international travel, being educated in the best schools in the county and internationally, for instance) and what was done with it – one built things while one managed to live off other peoples’ dimes.
The message should be – one candidate took things which others broke and fixed them while one candidate took things which other people built and broke them. Showcase all those companies which Romney saved. It shouldn’t be difficult to come up with several to highlight with the names of the dozens of the others scrolling in the background.
A few years back The Hill did a survey of the net worth of members of the Senate and the House. The Senate stands out in particular because 4 of the top 5 and 8 of the top 11 richest Senators were…(drum roll)…Democrats.
So much for the “party of the little guy.”
I’d love to see what it is today. Probably not much different.
@1; I had a similar experience on Yahoo yesterday. A Liberal (can’t remember their screen name) pipes up with “Romney doesn’t know how to build anything, all he does is downsize”. To which I replied “He took a small office supply store from Massachusetts and turned it into a company that has over 2,000 stores and 90,000 employees”. The rebuttal was “they don’t pay enough”. I just gave up since apparantly they expect everyone to start out getting paid $20.00 an hour.
OWB you big silly! ‘member no one has built any business on their own, comrade obama said so! He has also intimated that those of us who worked to get somewhere in life, ‘owe’ our less fortunate brethren something. He makes me sick!
It’s not how much money you make or have it’s what you do with it. Romney’s “charity” is the Mormon church, and those Staples jobs? How many families can live off of a retail salary with no medical benefits?
It’s his money. Are you honestly suggesting I should be more concerned with what Mitt Romney does with his own money than what this fraud in chief led government does with mine?
Wayne Allyn Root (famous sports handicapper in Vegas) suggested on Sean Hannity Show that Romney challenge Obama to unseal his records in exchange for more tax docs – whats he hiding? Mr. Root graduated Columbia University in 1983, same year Obama supposedly did, but NODODY remembers BO. How did a allegedly mediocre student get accepted into and afford elite schools like Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard? Mr. Root suggests there can be only one explanation – BO got affirmative action preference plus FOREIGN student aid – most likely as a citizen of Indonesia. Romney needs to put burden on Obama – what are you hiding?
vet’s mom: you got a problem with people giving donations to religious charities? And I think you’re wrong about Staples, at least currently. According to this source, after 90 days employment even part-time employees at Staples can opt to participate in most of their employee benefits, which include medical, dental, life, vision, and disability insurance to workers and their families.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-20/news/31078757_1_ups-part-timers-health-insurance-ups-employees
OWB, your last paragraph is absolute classic, you should be writing for the campaign. It’s the old “Wizard of Oz, Ignore whats behind the curtain pay it no mind”. Forunately most of us, particularly on here have the ability to think independently and know when someone is trying to blow smoke up our collective asses.
The following are Mitt Romney’s top 10 favorite philanthropic targets in terms of total dollars awarded by the Tyler Foundation since 2000:
1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: $4,781,000
2. Brigham Young University: $525,000
3. The United Way: $177,000
4. Right to Play: $111,500
5. The George W. Bush Library: $100,000
6. Operation Kids: $85,000
7. Center For Treatment of Pediatric MS: $75,000
8. Harvard Business School: $70,000
9. City Year: $65,000
10. Deseret International: $50,000
Weber State University: $50,000
http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2012/05/17/an-inside-look-at-the-millions-mitt-romney-has-given-away/
Those do not include his inheritance that he donated to the BYU Marriott School of Management’s Institute of Public Management in 1998.
Twist, obviously you don’t know how things work! We can’t interject FACTS with the comrade’s propaganda! That would be racist!
@vets mom; Are you are fine with Obama’s “charity” giving $27,000 to a racist church.
Up until recent years when their income increased sharply from book revenues and a Senate salary, Obama’s family donated a relatively minor amount of its earnings to charity. From 2000 through 2004, the senator and his wife never gave more than $3,500 a year in charitable donations — about 1 percent of their annual earnings. In 2005, however, that total jumped to $77,315 (4.7 percent of annual earnings), and to $60,307 in 2006 (6.1 percent).
The money went to several organizations.
More than $27,000 total was given to Obama’s church, Trinity United Church of Christ, whose former pastor Jeremiah Wright has dominated recent news coverage.
Other charity gifts included: Muntu Dance Theater, a Chicago-based company that performs contemporary and classic African dance, which received a $5,000 donation; The Rochelle Lee Fund, a literacy organization, which received a $20,000 donation; the Illinois Reading Council, which received a $25,000 donation, and CARE, the poverty fighting organization, which received a total of $31,000 in donations.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/25/obama-tax-returns-low-on-_n_93353.html
Maybe Romney gives so much to the church to pay tithe? Makes sense…
The Dems have a problem in that they can’t really run Obama on his record because he doesn’t have much of a record…he could barely accomplish his health care dream with a super majority of his own party in place at the time…consequently what the Dems have to do is make this a class warfare struggle of a rich guy versus a man of the people, the only problem with that is what people is Obama the man of? After all not too many Americans hold a net worth north of 10 million dollars so Obama is not really their guy either….
Romney is a better man than Obama on a number of levels for the country at this time, and it would be smart if his campaign would point out all the rich Dems, but the problem with Romney is he’s Romney….just a quiet guy who always seems boring and non-inspirational, he is not charismatic during interviews or speeches to those who are not already fans. Whether we like it or not elections in America today are as much about charisma and “likeability” as they are about platforms, perhaps more so in this insipid celebrity worshipping culture of ours….being smart, being able to solve large problems of financial crisis, being able to drive companies back from the edge of failure doesn’t get voters excited in America. Voters like a celebrity president, this election will show us just how much we value celebrity over economy. I’m hoping everyone wakes up and realizes we don’t get business pumping with Obama as president and makes the right choice to put our nation back to work. However, I’m not convinced that all the voters see that outcome as our two options this fall.
Yes, vet’s mom, how DARE he be allowed to practice his religion as he sees fit! Where does he think he lives–AMERICA?
Safe to say one thing: There is at least one vet with a seriously dumbass mom.
Wow. I thought the military respected women. I’m not sure where I got that idea. There’s obviously no respect for different points of view on this site.
People are free to give their money to whoever they see fit but no one should kid themselves and think that Romney is out in the world trying to help people in the way that other wealthy businessmen (Bill Gates for instance) are doing.
If you read the Boston Globe you’ll get a good idea from Romney’s former constituents what life with him was like but hey, why listen to people who knew him and lived with him, much better to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
Give respect and it will be returned. Don’t think for a second being a vet’s mom automatically entitles you to respect and gives you the right to come here and spew your craziness.
vet’s mom: regulars here respect honesty and service unconditionally. Respect based on other factors generally needs to be earned.
You don’t earn respect by coming here and making a comment that appears to disparage another’s religion. Or by making false statements that 2 minutes worth of research would have prevented, either.
And you might not want to play the “gender card” so quickly. A fair number of the regular commenters here are female veterans.
@19 I am from Massachusetts, I was here when Mitt was governor, and I believe he’s a far better choice than President Obama all day long.
I think the Dems are more than a little disingenuous making this a class warfare election. It’s always rich guys versus rich guys, trying to claim your guy is better because he’s not quite as rich is silly at best and cynically hypocritical at worst. I am fortunate enough to be an upper middle class worker at this point in my life, so I have been okay these last 4 years but many colleagues have been out of work for at least half that time with little to no prospect of change despite a massive stimulus.
After 4 years of “hope and change leadership” from the current administration staying the course seems to be a very weak option at best and one I am not interested in.
While Romney might not be the best option the Republicans could place, he is far superior to our current president and has the added value of at least making business a priority instead of an enemy.
That’s of course just my opinion and your mileage will most certainly vary, best of luck to you in proclaiming the status quo is the way to go.
Wow. I thought the military respected women.
Disingenuous much, mom? We respect women as we respect all people, but when said women/people say stupid shit, don’t think you’re above criticism.
Especially when you come in here acting like a partisan hack and somehow thinking your status of having birthed a member of our military somehow relieves you of 1–having a brain, 2–using same.
Hell, I’ll call out my own family members when they say/do stupid shit, what makes you a special case?
One of my best friends (and some well respected co-workers) are Mormon. They’re good people.
My point was that charitable giving to an organization that makes that giving mandatory is not the same as other types of charitable giving (volunteer work for instance). It doesn’t automatically make them Presidential material either.
Romney was a good businessman and apparently well respected in his church. There’s nothing wrong with it and I respect it.
The type of business he was in was predominantly about making money for a group of investors even when that meant destroying businesses in the process. Technically there’s nothing wrong with that either if you’re up front about it and do it legally.
Neither Romney’s business experience or anything in his personal life appear to enable him to relate to issues that most of the US population is facing.
I gave an honest opinion and meant no disrespect to anyone here and after years of donating time and money to veteran’s organizations am stunned at the kind of venom that I see on this site. During all that time I thought I was supporting people I could respect and be proud of. It’s hurtful and disappointing to find that might not have been the case.
vet’s mom: Sheesh. Did you really just trot out that trite old “some of my best friends are (whatever)” line as proof you’re not biased? And now you’re playing the “I’ve done so much for your group in the past” card too. Geez. Do you actually not even realize you’re doing that?
We get it that you don’t seem to like Romney. Fine. But your first comment above appeared to be a slam at the Mormon Church. That’s uncalled for. And the second part of your comment was, well, pure BS. Bluntly: both appeared to be campaign talking points inserted for no other reason. They’re very much off-topic.
You also haven’t responded to having been called on being just plain wrong about Staples not affording employees health benefits. Care to do so? C’mon – either support your original statement with facts or admit you were wrong. Either is a respectable course of action; sidestepping the issue isn’t. Support your position with provable facts.
You’re entitled to whatever opinion you like. But remember: so is everybody else commenting here. And the crowd here is generally self-reliant, and doesn’t generally have much sympathy for whining or lying. Discussion here gets rough-and-tumble at times. So if you choose to continue commenting, consider yourself forewarned.
“The type of business he was in was predominantly about making money for a group of investors even when that meant destroying businesses in the process. Technically there’s nothing wrong with that either if you’re up front about it and do it legally.”
In the interest of accuracy the “investors” that the Dems use as a talking point included several pension funds and non-profits, and some university equity funds….using the blanket term “investor” to try and portray every one who profited from Bain Capital as a millionaire is another attempt to create a class distinction scenario between the Obama administration as champion of the middle class and Romney as champion of the rich.
Regarding Romney facing the challenges of the middle class today, what makes you think that someone who ran a business that invested in companies by getting those companies to generate a profit (4 out of 5 business that Bain invests in generate more revenue after Bain is involved) is less qualified to put the country back to work than someone who has never met a payroll and never held a significant position in a revenue creating operation?
Like it or not, rich business men employ the middle class. The more money they have to invest the more jobs they create, we all know they are not doing it out of a sense of duty to the middle class and are instead looking to get wealthier. So what? Forcing businesses to pay fees, taxes, and penalties that make them less competitive does little to generate wealth or jobs. Perhaps someone who has some experience in creating wealth is exactly what the nation needs at this time.
“There’s obviously no respect for different points of view on this site.”
You do realise that there are members of the left wing that frequent here right? As long as you back up your opinion with facts and don’t side step, tell half-truths, or outright lie then your opinion is respected. I’m fairly new here and it didn’t take me long to figure that one out. To me your original point seemed to slam the Mormon Church. I may not be Mormon, but my wife and in-laws are so I take offense to crap like that.
Veritas – good talking points, well thought out and worthy of respect. Venture Capital however remains a business unlike most others with different goals and different outcomes and experience in venture capital doesn’t necessarily translate well to other businesses and like so many businesses doesn’t translate well to public service jobs. CEOs don’t have to build concensus and compromise the way elected officials do. It’s a very different world.
Interesting info on Staples:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Staples-EI_IE1909.11,18.htm
This is a great website, particulary for anyone sizing up a potential employer.
Retail jobs are fine, they’re necessary jobs and a great way to gain work experience. The fact remains however that most retail jobs aren’t going to support a family and pump much needed money into the economy.
Best wishes to all of you with apologies to anyone who took offense, no offense was meant.
So we should pay retail workers more? I don’t understand your point…
@24: One thing you should know about most veterans is that they will be blunt and straightforward with anyone who comes into their circles. You might not be used to this, but it isn’t venom. If you want to see real venom, go to Democratic Underground or Daily Kos and suggest that George W. Bush might not be Satan come to earth. As far as Bain Capital and “destroying businesses” goes, it’s not like they just went around picking happy, well run businesses to plunder and destroy for profit. If Bain Capital was getting involved, that business was on life support and fading fast well before they came into the picture.
A fair minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living would be a good idea but the point is that touting jobs at Staples as business experience that will help the US economy doesn’t quite cut it.
First of all the country isn’t run like a business, nor should it be. If however it was run like a business providing lots of low paying jobs wouldn’t be the way to help it succeed.
Texas had some job growth and the saying there is “Rick Perry created lots of jobs, I’m holding down three of them.”
Retail jobs (many of which typically don’t provide health care) won’t keep people off of welfare or help them support other businesses in their communities by spending money in those businesses.
vet’s mom: yes, most retail jobs are relatively low-paying. They also don’t generally require much in the way of education and training, either. They’re typically entry-level positions. Except for higher-end retail sales w/commission, most people don’t make a career out of them. They move to management or other positions – or get more education/training and change careers.
In short, they’re not a good choice for employment if one needs to support a family. And they’re worth what the market will bear for them – in this case, not all that much. That’s the harsh reality of many jobs, frankly.
Don’t like that? Then get the education and training necessary to get a better job. That’s the way life works.
But even a retail job beats the hell out of no job at all if you’ve got a family to feed. And at Staples, even part-timers get the chance to opt in to the benefits packages available to full-timers.
vet’s mom: you do realize that minimum wage laws (1) are a form of government price mandate (2) raise prices in general, and (3) discourage job creation – right?
Further: some jobs simply aren’t worth all that much, and don’t even merit minimum wage on economic grounds. Flipping burgers at McDonald’s simply isn’t worth paying someone $7.25+ an hour. I know – I did that as a kid for one of their competitors. Literally anyone who isn’t a complete idiot can learn how to do that. And I’m not sure some idiots couldn’t.
Anyone expecting to support a family long-term on a minimum wage job and maintain any reasonable quality of life is a fool. That’s why virtually every minimum wage job is an entry-level one. Those jobs are not designed to be career choices.
Hondo – you’re missing the point. If people are voting for Romney based on his success at places like Staples then might end up beingdisappointed.
I used Staples as an example (because that’s one of the Romney achievements that people point to) but the bulk of retail jobs don’t provide good benefits. The American tax payer picks up the tab for a lot of emergency room visits for these people while the people who own these companies make millions. There’s nothing wrong with making millions but why should a teacher or a bank manager be paying the medical bills for someone working hard at a nearby retail store? Why isn’t the millionaire businessman operating his business in a way that will benefit the economy and his customers?
Republicans say they want people to get a job so they won’t be on welfare but then they cut the budget for schools and for job training and they don’t support businesses that will supply well paying jobs. They also don’t penalize companies for shipping jobs overseas.
I’m not asking you to agree with me on everything, I’m just trying to get my point across. Thank you for taking the time to listen and to all of you who contributed good points to this discussion.
vet’s mom: you’ve quoted just about every economic myth out there. Instead of regurgitating everything you hear, educate yourself by reading Thomas Sowell and John Stossel. They are great at explaining basic economics to everyday people. They are also great at debunking economic myths like the minimum wage. If you don’t want to read their books, Townhall.com has many of their articles.
Bain Capital invested in companies that had potential and turned them around into growing, profitable companies that employ thousands. They were successful about 80% of the time. Without Bain’s involvement, most of these companies would have gone under, taking their jobs with them. Companies like Bain are necessary for the health of our economy.
In addition to wealth of politicians like Obama and Kerry, it really gets me how Obama kisses up to the Hollywood elite, many of whom are far wealthier than Romney.
Johnny Depp is one such example. As of 2011, his net worth was $350 million with an annual salary of almost $100 million.
Steven Spielberg has a net worth far greater than Romney’s at $3 BILLION and an annual income of $150 million.
George Lucas has a net worth of $3.25 BILLION.
George Clooney – $160 million
Angelina Jolie – $120 million
Etc., etc., etc.
I would argue that someone like Romney who uses his wealth to create more wealth and jobs for others is far more valuable than an actor who buys multi-million dollar homes and designer clothes, shoes, and handbags. Yes, their purchases do help the economy just like all personal spending, but it’s not the economic engine that businesses are. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas run very successful businesses as well, employing hundreds of people but don’t seem to be vilified by Obama.
What’s going on is that Obama doesn’t really hate rich people, it’s that he thinks creating a class war is a way to get votes. It won’t work if the American people are educated on the economy.
Vet’s mom, at least Romney has done something. I take it, from the tone of your posts that you’re another Obama supporter, here to point out the error of our ways to us.
Why isn’t the millionaire operating his business to benefit the economy? The purpose of a business is to make a profit. When the owner makes a profit, he can provide more jobs, and possible benefits, than he started with.
Shipping jobs overseas? Have you ever heard of Fisker Automotive? Look them up and see what they did, after taking a whole lot of taxpayer money, $529 Million dollars, actually. They got the money in 2009, and guess who one of the guys behind the company is? Algore. And, Fisker’s jobs were all created in Finland, no the U.S.
A point about insurance benefits.
One of the main problems with insurance is that it’s tied to employment. Most people who are uninsured are unemployed. Besides that, this puts a layer in between the people who consume health care and those that pay for it so that people can’t make informed decisions which is part of the increase in health care costs.
Most companies operate on slim profit margins and can’t afford to give combined salary and benefits to employees whose output is of less value. Unless you want to pay $20 or more for your McDonald’s hamburger?
To remedy this, several plans have ideas including being able to purchase insurance across state lines. That would help because some states have fewer mandates which makes insurance less expensive. If you, as a consumer, don’t need substance abuse or in-vitro coverage, which are expensive, then your insurance would be lower.
There are lots of other ideas, including this one at Heritage: http://www.savingthedream.org/about-the-plan/
A point about off-shoring:
Companies send jobs overseas because the cost of doing business in the US is higher than most any other country. Companies have an obligation to make a profit or they cease to exist. If taxes and regulations were reduced, those jobs would come back to the US.
Again, educate yourself on basic economics.
Mom, I as a 30 yr served Submarine Sailor (and in reality mostly due to being raised in a very caring home that was shown plenty of love and affection as well as being smacked on the behind or head when deserved and appropriate) can and will be respectful of everyone, but, it will always be commensurate to the level of their actions or words. Your action of coming to a site that is skewed to veterans and currently serving men and women in uniform and launching a troll bomb intentioned to elicit negative comments means that ‘the skies are the limits’ in me and many of my counterpart’s responses. Does that surprise you? Who are you to worry where Romney’s money goes? It’s his money, if he chooses to put his money in a stripper’s g-string (been there, done that) or into a collection plate on Sunday morning (ditto), who cares. That decision does not impact my opinion of him or anyone else. I think the real question is more along the line of “his church just so happens to be a religion you don’t understand or are using as a crutch to be critical”. To add insult to injury, your comments of “One of my best friends (and some well respected co-workers) are Mormon. They’re good people.” reeks of the “I have a black, Jewish or any other peoples you view as something less than you as a friend”. I have tons of friends that just happen to be white, black, brown and even some that are observant Mormons but that is not what makes them my friend, it is they have my back and I have theirs. We count on each other to have fun, call each other a dumbass when needed and are as much a part of each other’s families as our wives and children are without regard to race, color or religion (although a couple of em are chair force weenies that have to take the brunt of the jokes and ribbing). We call each other’s moms and dads the same and have been… Read more »
I am so sick of the communist mentality in this country that I could PUKE. Just about a third of my income is taken out in taxes; when I retire, the way the money is being frittered away, I won’t see a dime, in Social Security or anything else. And yet it’s always “why can’t ________ who’s making __________ (fill in the amount) give their money to ___________?”
How hard is it to understand that what someone has earned– and is rightfully theirs– DOESN’T BELONG TO ANYONE ELSE??!!
vet’s mom: I’m not missing the point. I reject the point you’re trying to make. You want the government to guarantee everyone’s needs are met. I don’t. I want it to set up a a reasonably level playing field in terms of legal opportunity, and then get the hell out of the way. Commerce-wise, pretty-much anything else our government tries to do to “help” merely impedes progress. It is not the government’s job to provide healthcare for everyone. That is an individual responsibility. Ditto housing, food, clothing, and retirement income. Make your own arrangements; pay our own way. The government should only assist in rare cases. Willfully failing to educate oneself – or willfully opting not to buy health insurance because it cuts into one’s take-home pay – is NOT sufficient reason for the government to step in. Freedom means the freedom to make bad decisions and reap the consequences thereof. The government’s proper role is to ensure equality of treatment and opportunity – NOT to attempt to ensure equality of outcome. Being treated equally doesn’t equate to getting everything a rich man has unless you’re rich yourself. The fact that there are rich and poor has been true in human society ever since the first society having money existed. And it will be true until the human race is extinct. It is a fact of human existence. No government will ever change that fact, and any government that tries to do so is doomed to failure. People have different levels of competence, initiative, and ability. Those directly translate into different levels of ability to make a living. Further: the most efficient and effective mechanism ever found to determine the value of a good or service is something called the “free market”. Under a free market, a good or service finds its natural value. That value is whatever someone is willing to pay to obtain it. If the price is too high, it won’t be bought – period. That applies to wages and salaries as well as goods. In short: you’re advocating that our government attempt something beyond its power.… Read more »
You all brought up all the points I wanted to. Speaking of rich asshats in congress, hopefully one of my Senators loses her job. McCaskill is one of the richest and she is on the way out the door. I just don’t know how Akin won the primary.
Vetmom:
In your bashing of Romney/Staples, you are quoting the entry wage, consistant for those who’ve chosen to get out of high school, bypass further education/trade training, and go right to work. In that case Staples wages should be on a par with McDonald’s front counter staff. However, I am sure that there are those at Staples who make damned good money, i.e. managers, supervisors, etc. These people either got more education or trade training/experience. And just what businesses did Romney “destroy” Would you be talking about the Steel company that is currently in the news over the lies being told about one former employees dead wife? He didn’t destroy that company, they saved it, for years, trying to make it a viable business. When Unionism and foreign competition demanded, it was then closed.
So far, all that you have said here suggest that you are one more of the Obumbler kool-ade drinkers, attempting to justify this loser.
Vet’s Mom, one of the pleasures of writing for this blog is that it not only allows me to air my own views but also to enjoy the comments people make regarding what I have written. Frequently I pick up points that I’d not previously considered so that makes this a learning process for me. Sometimes a comment will contain a nugget of wisdom that I can then flesh out into another essay. An example of that is today’s comment by OWB, “The message should be – one candidate took things which others broke and fixed them while one candidate took things which other people built and broke them.” That is such a succinct and spot-on comparison of these two candidates that it deserves wider circulation which I hope to give it. Today, madam, you robbed me of most of the pleasure I normally get writing here, by hijacking the comments section on my piece with your slightly snarky comment, which, in truth, I didn’t find particularly offensive (we have regular trolls here who call me all sorts of nasty names) but it did serve to elicit a similar response as one might expect from wearing a Bush/Cheney t-shirt into the Berkley student union cafeteria. While some of your critics may have been a bit harsh, the fact is, as was pointed out by another commenter, you were treated far better than a conservative would be at a liberal blog. And your status as a veteran’s mom buys you nothing here where almost every reader and commenter has served and are quick to challenge the credentials of any new poster with views like yours. This is a military blog of Sheepdog’s who are welcoming to other Sheepdogs but almost hyper-vigilant in their wariness about liberal wolves in sheep’s clothing. As for Staples, here’s a quite timely anecdote. I’m writing this while seated in a leather executive chair I ordered online from Staples Monday afternoon. That’s right-Monday. It arrived yesterday, Tuesday, afternoon less than 24 hours after I ordered it. Considering that I live in a remote, small town in the… Read more »
Russ:
Taking that comment that you cited, and using as often as possible at my Facebook page, even perhaps as a design in my online apparel and gear shop. Thanks OWB, I’ll share the profits with the troops when it takes off.
Thanks, all, for your kind comments about that phrase. Feel free to use it, tweak it, whatever.
To our latest addition, vet’s mom: the concept you appear to fail to grasp is the simple truth that all of us vets serve/served to protect the rights of all Americans to express their opinions without regard to whether we do or do not agree with those opinions.
There is a huge distinction between respecting your right to express your opinion and respecting your opinion. Coming here demanding that any of us respect you personally, is particularly ridicuous when your default position was so noxious and unworthy of my respect for you.
Russ: glad to see that I was not the only one whose thoughts went to the shehag. 😉
Casey Sheehan’s mother wouldn’t get too much respect if she came here. He deserved much more respect than she has ever given him. She has done everything to drag him down with her, but I will always do my best to remember him and forget her.