{"id":542,"date":"2012-09-04T21:23:39","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T01:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jparnell.com\/blog\/?p=542"},"modified":"2012-09-04T21:23:39","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T01:23:39","slug":"are-you-better-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/?p=542","title":{"rendered":"Are you better off?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1980 Ronald Reagan asked a question that struck a chord with many voters: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? <\/em>(click on the youtube link for a classic Reagan delivery)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=loBe0WXtts8<\/em><\/p>\n

Mitt Romney is asking the same question today, but the Obama camp is putting a different spin on the answer. Insisting that the nation is better shape today than when he first took office is a tough sell, so the President is playing the class card. Rather than compare your situation today to four years ago, you are really being told to compare your change in situation to that of your wealthy neighbor. You might be struggling–the narrative goes–but the rich seem to be doing OK. Your vote for Obama might not help your actual<\/em> predicament, but it will help your relative<\/em> situation by redistributing your neighbor’s wealth. The conservatives who seem to notice this sleight-of-hand reject it as folly, but some truth is being overlooked. Could it be that many Americans believe they are better off today, and if so, why?<\/p>\n

Class warfare appeals to a carnal instinct in all of us. We like to think that we deserve a little more than the next guy, so it’s tempting to blame our economic shortcomings on “the system,” better known as free enterprise or capitalism. Besides, the “rich” always seem to be doing OK, regardless of economic circumstances.<\/p>\n

Strict socialists reject capitalism in its entirety, but neo-Marxists and fascists recognize some value in private markets. Rather than eliminate them altogether, they seek to resolve the alleged inefficiencies that emanate from capitalism through various types of regulation and control. Even if we assume a modicum of good intentions, this government intrusion inevitably creates unintended consequences that worsen the situation. The failed stimulus, the GM bailout, and Obamacare are examples of legislation purported to promote economic growth but have only resulted in greater debt, cronyism, and government dependency.<\/p>\n

But could the case be made that the policies and political philosophy that fosters the current economic malaise has actually helped certain classes of Americans? Doesn’t wealth redistribution benefit the poor? The answer to both questions, unfortunately, is a qualified yes, at least in the short run. This is a challenge for those who wish to unseat the President, many of whom don’t recognize this reality. As Keynes chastised those who opposed him, “in the long run, we are all dead.”<\/p>\n

Many Americans are caught up in the short run as well, putting vacations on a credit card and depending almost completely on programs like Social Security and Medicare in their senior years. Unlike those evaluating Reagan vs. Carter 32 years ago, many of today’s voters are more likely to reject sound economic arguments for reductions in the size and scope of government, and tax cuts for all income categories. They don’t see the coming crisis associated with $16 trillion of national debt and a society addicted to government programs. We won’t win over all of the detractors, but we must persuade some of them that liberty and free enterprise are the only long term<\/em> solution to our economic stagnation. We only have 2 months to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1980 Ronald Reagan asked a question that struck a chord with many voters: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? (click on the youtube link for a classic Reagan delivery) http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=loBe0WXtts8 Mitt Romney is asking the same question today, but the Obama camp is putting a different spin on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}