Obama's War on Prosperity

In my last post I noted that President Obama's current attack on Mitt Romney is predicated on his ability to make profits, as if making profits were evil.  In doing so, I said, Obama appears to have declared war on prosperity.  The more I think of it, the more I think this captures Obama's entire approach to the economy.  Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty, thinking that large government programs to help the poor would actually help them.  That thinking was quite wrong, as we know now that the Great Society programs destroyed families, increased unemployment, promoted dependency, discouraged self-reliance and self-advancement and exacerbated class division, all while making poverty worse. But at least promoters of the Great Society actually wanted to help someone.

Obama's War on Prosperity, on the other hand, isn't designed to help anyone. It is designed to hurt someone, the many someones variously described as "the rich," "the 1%" and those who "make profits." There isn't anyone who is especially targeted to benefit from this war; just plenty of someones who are targeted to lose.

Consider: Obama never expresses particular concern for those in poverty. He does not identify with their plight or rail about their living conditions, their lack of food or sanitation or their poor education. His attention, rather, is on the "haves," and his true passion is directed at the "unfairness" of their having what others do not. He wants redistribution of wealth, not so much to help the poor, but to stick it to the rich.

Americans should recoil in horror that a sitting president should have these views, because they are contrary to everything Americans believe in.  This land, unique in the world, is the land of opportunity, where getting rich is the American dream, and a dream that anyone, of any race, of any background, of any birth, can achieve.  Anyone can attain as much success as he can, through hard work, smart investment, and virtuous living. And as I point out throughout this blog, the success one attains must result in success for others, as every purchase and every hire one makes makes the other party better off, too.

Can everyone be Warren Buffett?  Clearly not, but success is not defined by having multiple billions of dollars. Success is improving your lot, giving your children a better opportunity than you had, a decent house, time with your family, health, and contentment. Millions of Americans routinely attained success throughout America's history, doing just these things, precisely because government let them live their lives as they wished and stayed out of the way. Today, success, even by these modest terms, is increasingly difficult for anyone to achieve.

Not that long ago striving for success, and the prosperity that went along with it, was taken for granted as the American creed. Obama's War on Prosperity rejects this creed and the commonality it gives us, and it seeks to pit us against each other.  If it succeeds, inevitably we all will be poorer.