Wealth is a byproduct of success. It is the carrot at the end of the stick. Take away that carrot and you remove the desire to pursue success.
Socialism not only takes away that carrot, it extinguishes the success traits that make success and wealth possible: hard work ethic, creativity, persistence, genius, good habits, overcoming fear and the courageous pursuit of dreams and goals.
Success is therefore impossible in a Socialist society.
Thankfully, America’s founding fathers knew this.
In order to encourage the pursuit of success in America, our founders built into the framework of our US Constitution certain principles that fuel the pursuit of success. These were liberty, limited government, and property rights. Property rights being the right to keep the wealth you produce without it being taken away by government.
These principles enabled America to become the economic behemoth it is today.
These principles are codified into what we call the American Dream. But, the American Dream is different things to different people.
For parents, the American Dream is the belief that their children will be more prosperous than they.
For some, it is merely the ability to rise above the depredations of poverty.
And for others, it represents the ability to become wealthy.
The American Dream has been a huge boon for America.
The United States has 705 billionaires (Ranked: Countries With The Most Billionaires, 2019 https://ceoworld.biz/2019/05/13/ranked-countries-with-the-most-billionaires-2019/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=SocialSnap).
This is far more than every other country in the world.
We have a 19.4 trillion dollar economy, the highest of every other country in the world (Top 20 Economies in the World https://www.investopedia.com/insights/worlds-top-economies/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons).
Liberty and property rights (the right to keep the wealth you produce) have, for generations, separated America from the rest of the world. It is the reason America is often referred to as “the land of opportunity”.
That was, and still is, the American Dream.
Unfortunately, things are changing.
There are efforts afoot to destroy the meritocracy that built America.
These efforts are being mounted by a growing minority of Anti-American Dream Socialists, with an agenda to transform America:
- These Socialists believe they are entitled to free things from the government.
- These Socialists believe that the government is obligated to provide for their needs. They see the provision of their needs, as a right.
- These Socialists believe our existing tax system does not tax the rich enough. They believe the rich do not pay their “fair share”. “Fair share”, to Socialists, is most of their wealth.
- These Socialists believe our capitalist system is to blame for the growing disparity in income and wealth.
In an effort to close that gap, these Socialists seek to redistribute the income and wealth from every American Dream Achiever.
Their weapons of choice are higher income taxes, a wealth tax, increased regulatory control over our economy by government and an expansion of government entitlements.
In order to accomplish their ends, these Socialists need to be able to sell Socialism to the masses. Their preferred method is hyperbolic denunciations of the rich and of those who support the pursuit of wealth. They use identity politics to divide and conquer. They call those who defend our American Dream, racist and other hateful, divisive words.
Their ultimate objective is to turn society against the wealthy.
And they are succeeding.
Calls for increased income taxation of the rich, and a wealth tax on millionaires, are resonating with far too many in America.
For those who understand basic economics, increased taxation of the wealthy makes absolutely no sense at all.
When you punish the successful for their success, through increased taxation and increased government regulations, what incentive do entrepreneurs have to pursue wealth?
Without that very important carrot at the end of the stick – the right to keep the wealth you produce through your own efforts – the important incentive to pursue success, is lost.
Our American Dream Achievers are the very individuals who start new companies, produce world-changing innovations and create millions of new jobs.
The wealthy, and those who pursue wealth, should be held up as heroes.
The wealthy are not the enemy. We need them. Now and forever.
We are biting the hand that feeds us all when we buy into the ideology that says the wealthy are bad.
We should be embracing and encouraging the pursuit of wealth, not condemning it.
We should reward American Dream Achievers, not punish them with higher taxes.
We should hold American Dream Achievers up as heroes, paragons and mentors, not demons.
If this Anti-Rich, pro-Socialist movement succeeds, the American Dream will die, our economy will crash and everyone’s standard of living will be pulled down into a community cesspool of poverty.
The discussion then will not be about how to shrink income inequality or the wealth gap. It will, instead, be about how to feed our families.
Having read many of the posts and articles last week, I am happy to see you addressing the facts here. It’s very interesting to me that some people are trying to say that you hate the poor and are calling “Africans lazy.” Crazy misrepresentations abound.
I am so interested in this topic because I grew up in a poor neighborhood and saw the habits of poverty firsthand. After I read Rich Habits, it became so clear to me what was really happening and why things just weren’t changing.
In reading so much of your material, it seems to me that it’s not the poor that you take issue with, it’s their daily habits. Change the habits, you’ll change the circumstances. Am I right?
I appreciate your insights on how those who are rich think and believe differently than those who are poor. You quoted many stats and percentages, however, there are some points and comments with which I take issue: 1) How do you (or more pertinently the studies to which you refer) define “poor”? Are they those who do not reach the “wealthy” bar that you set (is there no middle class)? And 2), when you speak of “government entitlements” are you referring to only certain ones or to all of them?
I think your article would be more convincing just focusing on the habits of the “rich” and the “poor” (and defining clearly what you mean exactly by these terms), and avoid the flawed political rant. It detracted from this otherwise useful and helpful article. Some of the points you make are erroneous and not based on fact. For example, taxing the wealthy “because they make more” (which is not the case, btw) would disincentivize them to not try to be wealthy is completely erroneous. What of those rich individuals who live in highly taxed countries? Did the taxation stop them from pursuing wealth? I think not. They most likely exhibited the same habits that you espouse here. Otherwise, if those who wish to remain or to become wealthy were to be taxed in a more balanced way, would that REALLY stop them from trying to be and/or stay wealthy? If so, then they in fact DO NOT have those habits and beliefs, or your whole premise is deeply flawed.
I am not necessarily advocating for increasing the taxes on those who are wealthy “just because they are” – far from it. I would actually support some level of reduction in “entitlement programs”, but include those which allow large corporations to not pay any taxes while small businesses struggle. I would want to see many of the corporate tax loop holes closed up, tax breaks that are skewed to favor the very wealthy (those who are in the highest tax brackets), and make it more balanced.
Yet, I would also like to see things like medical and mental health taken out of the private sector and make it available through a balanced tax program. Some things that everyone needs to live healthy and productive lives should not be at the hands of for-profit entities. And, please do not tell me that they would run more efficiently, provide better service and so forth because that would be a lie. They all tend to fall back to the bottom line and disregard what’s in the best interest of the people served.
Now, before you go screaming “Liberal”, I know that my thoughts here are not fully developed. I lack both the time and energy to put them all here. My main point is that if you are going to make critiques of the political system, please avoid the whole conservative political rhetoric. It demeans you and your articles.
Thank you for your time. Regardless of whether or not there is agreement politically, I did learn from your article and I will consider buying your book when I finish grad school.
Sincerely,
Coby Lyons
poor or rich i don’t care FOR ME AMERICA is the greatest nation in the history of the earth AS senator Mitt Romney said . I am not American but I love this land . and I think the American dream never was about money it is about the freedom just freedom I live in a country where everyone feels misery ..
War and fighting and there is no value for money when the shells fall on your home and your car
killing your family for No reason But they were in the wrong place at the wrong time .
god bless America
Thanks for Sharing
We no longer have Democrats and Republicans, we effectively have Socialist and Nationalist from this time forward. Look at the unquestioning wide support AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) has. This result is a direct manifestation of the extreme left full takeover of universities which indoctrinates students in the resentment religion of social justice. AOC’s new green deal is socialism. It will actually cause more pollution and cost massive amounts of money. AOC’s religion is all about power and privilege. Competence or merit is not important. Search for the “Post-Meritocracy Manifesto” to understand a bit more about this ideology. People are not rational and AOC is very good at persuasion. It matters not that socialism has catastrophically failed multiple times before (they don’t teach that history anymore) or even that Venezuela is currently fallen into extreme poverty, crime and hunger due to actual implementation of the aspirations of socialism.
Tks for your feedback Joe. It might seem odd to some that I am using this blog to stand up against Socialism, but there is a reason. If Socialism succeeds in America, everything I’m trying to do (help lift people out of poverty and the middle-class) is for naught. Socialism will stamp out the pursuit of success. There will be no desire for anyone to pursue success because there will be no benefit in doing so. All of the innate, untapped greatness that resides inside each one of us, as humans, is extinguished with Socialism. The pursuit of dreams and goals unleashes this greatness. In a Socialist society, the pursuit of dreams and goals will cease.
When you make a blanket statement that socialism stamps out pursuit of success, please back up by research. I’ve been following your blog for a while, and when you make these fear based comments, it sounds ignorant. Socialist counties have innovation and success, government policies doesn’t take that away. That part of human nature…just look at your kids. From a young age I see competition and need to succeed in many children…much of that is innate and part of our survival.
Reading how you write about socialism is also the first time I thought, “hmm wonder what else he made up on his website without facts.” I agree with most of your issues regarding taxing the rich, bailing folks out, free college/healthcare, etc, but i’ve also seen free healthcare benefit the very poor—the ones I work with have significant mental health issues. Was just surprised at the black/white fear mongering in this article.
Name one Socialist country that has succeeded. Please don’t mention any of the nordic countries, who are uber-capitalist countries, albeit with large safety nets. USSR- failed. China – Failed and in response shifted to capitalism in the late 1970’s. Cuba – Failed. Venezuela – Failed. Research is about reading/learning/educating yourself, not embracing an ideology and seeking only facts that support your ideology. The fear you feel is likely facts interfering with your ideology. It’s called Cognitive Dissonance.
How interesting, this made me read more into this topic and your arguments are in line with the common misconceptions people present. There is a middle ground, what about Democratic socialism in Nordic countries? Any chance emotions clouding judgements? Not saying that to be patronizing, asking for you to look at both sides before saying that socialism squashes innovation…pretty sure there has been innovation from both China and Russia; Norway, Sweden, etc??? All the best.