Originally posted by: Citrix
Originally posted by: BigDH01
Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
No, ofcourse he didn't blow the election. Those who lean left in this country(especially those who will vote for BHO) don't see anything wrong with wealth redistribution. They seem to thrive on the "robin hood" class warfare issues.
Someday people will realize that it's not the gov't place to take from some just to give to others.
Those who lean right in this country think it's a good idea to concentrate all the wealth in the hands of very few people that aren't accountable to citizens. When they sleep at night, they think happy thoughts of aristocracy. They seem to thrive on "trickle down" class warfare issues.
Someday,
people will realize that it is a free nation's government's job to ensure that 10% of the population doesn't own 90% of the wealth, and therefore power, as such a situation is inherently unsustainable. A land of peasantry is not a free nation.
where in the hell did you lean that? NO IT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB TO ANY SUCH A THING. :| you want socialism move to Venezuela Uncle Chavez will take good care of you.
So much history lost on this one. The concentration of wealth is something humanity has been fighting for an extremely long time. Even our founding fathers would've recognized the dangers of aristocracy.
?I hope we shall take warning from the example of England and crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our Government to trial, and bid defiance to the laws of our country? - Thomas Jefferson
As for Jefferson's view of the United States and how he viewed labor and land:
With respect to Aristocracy, we should further consider that, before the establishment of the American states, nothing was known to History but the Man of the old world, crouded within limits either small or overcharged, and steeped in the vices which that situation generates. A government adapted to such men would be one thing; but a very different one that for the Man of these states. Here every one may have land to labor for himself if he chuses; or, preferring the exercise of any other industry, may exact for it such compensation as not only to afford a comfortable subsistence, but wherewith to provide for a cessation from labor in old age. Every one, by his property, or by his satisfactory situation, is interested in the support of law and order. And such men may safely and advantageously reserve to themselves a wholsome controul over their public affairs, and a degree of freedom, which in the hands of the Canaille of the cities of Europe, would be instantly perverted to the demolition and destruction of every thing public and private. The history of the last 25. years of France, and of the last 40. years in America, nay of it's last 200. years, proves the truth of both parts of this observation.
Jefferson certainly didn't view a country who's government and existence was dominated by the wealthy elite. He felt all men were entitled to a comfortable life where they could save for retirement.
As for John Adams, "Mr. John Adams observed that the numbers of people were taken by this article as an index of the wealth of the state, & not as subjects of taxation, that as to this matter it was of no consequence by what name you called your people, whether by that of freemen or of slaves. That in some countries the labouring poor were called freemen, in others they were called slaves; but that the difference as to the state was imaginary only."
Or maybe we can look at Jefferson's draft constitution for Virginia in 1776.
"Every person of full age neither owning nor having owned [50] acres of land, shall be entitled to an appropriation of [50] acres or to so much as shall make up what he owns or has owned [50] acres in full and absolute dominion. And no other person shall be capable of taking an appropriation."
Our founders recognized the importance of equality in a democracy. From John Adams,
"The only
possible Way then of preserving the Ballance of Power on the side of
equal Liberty and public Virtue is to make the Acquisition of Land easy to every Member of
Society: to make a Division of the Land into Small Quantities, So that
the Multitude may be possessed of landed Estates."
Even James Madison understood the dilemma of freedom vs equality.
"Nor will accumulations of Capital for a certain time be precluded by our laws of descent & of distribution; such being the enterprize inspired by free Institutions, that great wealth in the hands of individuals and associations, may not be unfrequent. But it may be observed, that the opportunities, may be diminished, and the permanency defeated by the equalizing tendency of the laws."
He understood that in such cases, laws would inevitably be changed to promote a more equal distribution.
The bottom line is that all of the founding fathers recognized the danger of wealth accumulation as it leads to aristocracy. No one is saying that all wealth should be equal, simply that too much wealth (power) in the hands of too few would be the downfall of democracy.