The LOUDelf speaks!

We have been hearing more and more news stories about America’s shift toward socialism, for right or wrong.  It appears that most Americans don’t want socialism for a multitude of reasons.  But I boiled this down to see if I could think through some commonality, and basis. 

First off, let’s be straight:  America is not a pure system, and very few are.  Pure systems such as socialism or communism prove to fail, just as pure capitalist systems would as well.  In America, it is a modified system, which many (especially economists) believe should not shift any more towards socialism.  By modified, I mean that it is capitalism, but with government intervention that keeps the businesses more honest, and hopes to safeguard the people.  It is not perfect, but this modified system has been largely successful for more than 50 years. 

But let’s boil this down to in my mind, three classes of people that are part of our society’s workforce:

The lazy:  Some people are inherently lazy.  They do not have the drive to succeed or exceed in the workforce or productivity.  They are often content doing the minimum it takes to receive a paycheck, or in many cases, receive hand-outs shouldered on the backs of other citizens that work harder than they, and blaming anyone else for their problems.

The average:  These are the majority of Americans.  They work their shifts or hours, and strive to move up the ladder.  They will have intermittent flashes of motivation and brilliance, and this can get them promotion, recognition, and sometimes wealth. 

The hard-working:  These are people who don’t quit.  If they only work 40-hours, it is due to medical problems or other circumstances.  They have large, yet detailed goals, and take it personally when they do not achieve every part.  When they don’t succeed, they push back stronger with a new plan, and even more vigor. 

Herein is where the conflict begins.  Your lazy drain everyone that is not lazy.  Your hard-working generate more than their share into the pool.  Your average pull at least their weight, and sometimes more.  Many lazy believe themselves to average.  Many average believe themselves to be hard-working.  Some hard-working don’t realize they are hard-working, but most do when they look at the rest of society. 

The problem is, is that hard-working people wish everyone else was.  If they were, there would be a lot of surplus.  Lazy people, either knowingly, or unknowing, drain surplus at a more rapid rate than can be generated.  Some average people are indifferent because they pull their own weight, but do not see their excess efforts contribute to the lazy.  Now, insert politicians.

Politicians by-and-large care about getting votes.  They may initially start off with good intentions, but most enjoy the flattery that comes along with winning an election.  Votes win elections.  So what do politicians do?  They cater to those first who are most opinionated:  Your lazy or your hard-working.  Once they lock their target down, they soften a little and woo the average.  We see this every presidential cycle, and on down.  Instead of figuring out a system that takes care of the TRULY needy, and incentivizes Americans to work harder and achieve more, they look to segment society, and benefit their target (whatever that may be).  What they try to do is get more people into their segment (or at least to believe they’re in it), and then pitch how they will protect it.

So let’s step out of some of the hypothetical, and get into some more real terms of today’s America.  Currently, we have a “progressive” tax scale – the more you earn, the higher the percentage of tax the government deducts.  Hard-working people despise this, as do most average people who get raises, and climb into a new bracket.  It tells people that not only if your work harder to earn more you will pay more, but also each dollar you take in will be harder to achieve.  This is counter-motivational in my book.  But why is this allowed to stay?  Because so many people are receiving government kickbacks of money redirected out of the pockets of those from a higher bracket by either not paying taxes, or getting actual checks.  People never want to have less for their same effort, and thus if someone tells them they have to work harder to get the same, they look to someone else to tell them otherwise.  Yet, this is what your hard-workers do anyway as is their nature – work harder for every penny they bring in. 

The problem with most of the “share the wealth” crowd, and proponents of making our system more socialist, is that most of them are NOT the ones that will have to be taking the hit.  (It’s the 5% of working folks – Obama) that will shoulder the first round of increases.  The problem being that these people who are taxed the most, also use far fewer public resources.  So people who are less drain, and already contribute the largest percentages, now have to work harder just to get what they had before.  Now, you get no sympathy from the “share the wealth crowd”, but if they had to pay more in tax for people that use more services, and had to change their lifestyles and work habits, or even downgrade, I think you’d see them change their tune… but too many people look at people with more than they have with disdain.  The difference is, the hard-working people, who believe in compensation for their work, look to those that have more and decide to achieve more to get to that status, instead of working to make it harder for those above to have what they have.

This is the problem in America nowadays.  People are angry at those who have more, and instead of being constructive and working to catch up, they ask people that don’t care about them (only the votes they create) to make it harder for the others who have more to live well.  America was built on the backs of people that came here for the opportunity to work and become anything they wanted.  Now, a good portion of our society wants everyone else to work to pay for them or their favorite causes or ideals.  People need to try responsibility for themselves, and leave those who want to really produce alone to do just that.

Filed under: Bailout, Economy, Mortgage Crisis, Politics, Taxes Tagged: | Average, Centrist, Conservative, Democrat, Government, Hard-working, Indepependent, Lazy, liberal, moderate, Politics, republican, Socialism, Third, united states