Once upon a time there was a good hearted fellow named Robin Hood. No doubt you're familiar with this guy's story ... he's the one who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Sounds noble doesn't it?
There's just a few problems with the modern day version of Robin Hood (a.k.a. U.S. Federal Government).
Problem #1: Stealing is wrong! Taking from the rich, taking anything from anyone is just plain wrong. Biblical or not, most (dare I say all) persons who earn what they have do not like it when someone comes along and takes any or all of what they've earned. Young or old, people who worked hard for something feel like they deserve to keep most or all of what they earned.
Problem #2: Redistribution is wrong! Distributing money, goods or services to people who DID NOT earn it is not fully appreciated (with few exceptions). There are many people who are temporarily down on their luck and deserve a helping hand. But if someone is able to work, but not willing to work then either they are lazy or are not focused on what is important.
Problem #3: Wealth and poverty are both created. A great philosopher (whose name escapes me) once said that "if you took all the wealth in the world and distributed it evenly ... eventually it would end up back in the hands of the wealthy." I believe this to be true. Not because the wealthy will steal it back from the poor ... it's because they will put what they have to work to create more wealth. They will delay gratification today, so that tomorrow they will have greater means. This is how most of the wealthy became wealthy in the first place!
To understand why I believe the above to be fact you have to know a little bit about my upbringing:
I didn't have the toughest life growing up ... but I also didn't have the easiest life either. I came from a family of seven (Dad, Mom, four bothers and me). My father worked construction and when times were lean (the 70's) we received government aid which included food stamps and other handouts. My parents hated that we needed the handouts, they were embarrassed and they even felt disgraced. I even remember going to the food stamp office with my mom to pick them up ... I was young, but I recall being embarrassed ... and I remember not being the only ones in line. A small home, one car and hand-me down clothing were the norm for us. But believe it or not, we were considered lower middle-class! Ha!
Regardless of how the government defined us, we felt poor and we HATED IT! We did not want to live like that forever. Most of the Americans living during this time in the same circumstances felt the same way. So what did my parents do about it? Once their five kids were old enough they both worked full time! A novel concept ... work, so you don't have to receive hand-outs! Work, so that you can support your family with dignity and pride.
Once my parents both started working things did get better ... but we still weren't rich. We didn't eat steak and potatoes 7 days a week. In fact, when we did eat steak it was usually the cheapest cut possible. We still handed down clothes, we still brown-bagged school lunches, my brothers and I all had paper routes and then jobs when we were old enough. We didn't have new Nike's on our feet nor did we wear Levi's. But what we had was ours and we earned it! Not relying on the government to provide our basic needs made us feel good!
Fast forward 40 years ... and the Robin Hood philosophy has morphed into a "steal from the rich and give me what I want" philosophy! I travel all over Florida for work and I see all kinds of people in all kinds of neighborhoods. There are people collecting food stamps, welfare and an unemployment check ... yet have a satellite dish on their house and a Cadillac Escalade in their driveway.
I also watch way too much news and remember the story of a convenience store worker in New York State that lost her job early in 2012 because she refused to let a minor buy cigarettes with his food stamps (card)! She thought she was doing the right thing and she ends up out of work because of it.
Robin Hood ... your place is in the story books, not Washington D.C.!
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