Making Money...

"If you ask me to name the proudest distinction of Americans, I would choose- because it contains all the others- the fact that they were the people who created the phrase to make money. No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity- to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created."

Francisco D' Anconia, Atlas Shrugged

Sadly, it appears that making money is beginning to become more synonymous with printing money than the creation of wealth that Francisco is referring to.

Same old, Same old

Nationally syndicated Columnist Eugene Robinson recently compared the air traffic controllers that were fired for illegally striking with the Republican Congressmen who voted against the economic stimulus package proposed by President Obama. He stated that “it's pretty clear that the GOP caucus has been meeting in a soundproof room.” (Deseret News Editorial)

His rationale? He wants to speak for all Americans when he says:

• Americans know that the philosophy of more tax cuts and less spending has already taken us as far as it could.
• Americans know that taxes can only be cut by so much before the federal government's effectiveness inevitably suffers.
• Americans know that spending money doesn't necessarily mean wasting it.
• Americans know that government is the only instrument we have to induce financial and economic recovery.

Mr. Robinson, though not living in a soundproof room, is living in a more dangerous room. A room that is full of liberal rhetoric regardless of what Americans really believe or feel. Let me state what I think is more accurate about what the American people know or at least feel:

• It was reported by the Rasmussen Report that only 42% of the public support the Spending Stimulus package that was voted on by Congress. (Rasmussen Report)
• 53% of Americans believe that it is better to cut taxes than increase spending. (Rasmussen Report)
• 59% of Americans are concerned that government spending will become too high. (Rasmussen Report)

One of the points that Mr. Robinson failed to mention was that 12 Democrat Congressmen also voted against the spending stimulus package. There must have been something in the package that didn’t ring true to these elected representatives. I applaud them all for standing up for what their constituents believed. They were in no way, going against the law as the air traffic controllers did. Nor were they voting against an overwhelming majority of the American people.

Stimulating the economy is a tricky and sensitive matter. Only 34% of Americans agree that spending should be the core of a stimulus package while 34% disagree and the remaining 32% are not sure (Rasmussen Report). Our President has been given the reins of the country for the next four years. He won on the platform of “change.” However if he continues to work in a non-collaborative, partisan manner, as evidenced by his inability to win even one Republican to his side, then we are not really in for a change, just a different group of politicians running the show. Similar to the latest release of King Kong, same story, different faces, same outcome. Unfortunately, we can’t walk out of the theater on this one, we have to live the outcome. Here’s hoping the government realizes that the people and the businesses are the ones that have the power to turn it around, not the bureaucrats.