ECONOMY: Soak the Rich My Ass!

I have been having some heated discussions (if you can call them that) with my wife about the new healthcare proposals made by the Democrats in the House.

One proposal especially is irksome to me in principle; it is the one that stipulates paying for the “public plan” read Socialized Medicine, by taxing the rich with a special medical “surtax” on top of their already high regular taxes.

Now I don’t pretend to be rich but I ain’t poor either. I came from a poor family where the parents were common laborers and where my father had to work three (3) jobs to earn a living wage. I went into the military service and came out with medical technology skills which allowed me to work midnights while I finished school (GI Bill) during the day AND I was married and had a child to support. In other words, I worked my ass off to get to where I am today.

I have had my own company (Medical technology) now for 28 years and believe me it has been a struggle all along the way so I hope you can see why I would be a little pissed off when our government tells me that I have to pay for a health insurance plan for the rest of the country while people that make less than me, pay nothing.

I do have to add that the proposal on the table would tax the “very” rich but eventually it would come down to me and others like me that make up upper middle class or 3% of the population.

My wife feels that since we have the money, why shouldn’t we be willing to buy insurance for the rest of the country? What about the principal here? Did I work my ass off all my life to buy shit for total strangers? Where is the fairness here?

Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor but in those days the rich became rich by robbing the poor so you can see that Robin was just balancing things out. In earlier history when robber barons roamed the country, one could cry about the inequality of things which gave rise to communism and other egalitarian economic philosophies designed to level things out.

BUT now, there are many blokes like myself, that have earned every penny they have through the sweat of their brows and through risk taking that put their own families in danger of economic hardship and we are now considered part of the “dirty” or is it filthy, rich as if we were born rich?

The beauty of the American capitalist system is that anybody and everybody can achieve financial success if they are willing to work at it and sacrifice for it. Paying a penalty for your success, your hard work goes against that American system and the potential for success that it holds for all.

What the hell is happening to this country? I may have to support a Republican if I can find one without a Neanderthal social brain.