Thursday, October 16, 2008

Abomination

Having completed a midterm last night and in desperate need of some libation, I headed over to a local establishment with some grad school friends. We were in a large group, and I heard someone had ordered pizzas for everyone. As I went in for a slice, "Excuse me, that's my pizza."

"My mistake," as I reluctantly turned away from the guy's claimed pie.

He must have seen the hunger in my eyes because he said, "Tell you what - Who are you voting for?"

"Eh, I'm probably writing in Ron Paul."

"As long as you don't vote for McCain you can share my pizza."

Over slices, we proceeded to discuss his rationale for supporting Obama. I asked if he was aware that about 40% of Americans don't even pay taxes. No, he wasn't. So how the heck is Obama going to give "95% of Americans a tax cut"?! Redistribution - that's how! That's the greatest injustice of this election season - that Obama can get away calling redistribution (i.e. a tax credit) a tax cut! How can so many be hoodwinked!

Then, this morning this WSJ article was in my inbox which addressed this very issue!

Hat tip: Ilya

5 comments:

Sherman said...

Not fair. I've not supported McCain a lot longer than you've not supported McCain and no one gives me free pizza.

Sherman said...

Also, if a tax credit is not redistribution, then yay redistribution!!!

Whitney Lynne said...

Hmmm, looks like I need to write a post that attacks the fundamental premises underlying redistribution. Sherman, you're like the fourth person I've encountered in 4 days to be so unabashedly for redistribution!

Rebecca said...

Hi I'm rebecca, and I'm a raging Democrat.

I am also aware that Obama is the master of his craft, craft being deceptive 'tax cuts' and hiding behind the idea of 'making the working man richer' so they can 'fill their gas tanks' etc.

Not a fan. Not a fan of either candidates.

I'll be writing in Hillary.

Ilya Kostyukovsky said...

"Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

It wasn't some crazy right-winger who said this; it was Abraham Lincoln. The main problem with redistribution (moral considerations aside): it creates a massive disincentive for wealth creation on all levels. And wealth creation is what drives each individual’s effective freedom to live his life as he sees fit.

My family immigrated here almost 20 years ago. We came with $70 among the four of us. The success each of us has achieved the past 20 years has not been due to some false prophet preaching “hope” and “change” and promoting wealth redistribution. It is precisely the lack thereof why we’re the most prosperous country in the history of civilization.