Greed

When is demanding more money for less work not greed? When it's done by a union. When is demanding to keep more of what you've earned greed? When it's done by a capitalist.

Alright, now that we know who the evildoers are, answer this: over the past fifty years, what has driven manufacturing out of the U.S.? How did public education become so bad? Who attacks unarmed opponents at political rallies? Whose votes do the Democrats continue to purchase with taxpayer dollars?

Obama says he knows how much money is "enough" for everyone. Do you? That was a trick question. If you're a union member, or part of the 50% of the country who pays no income taxes, the answer is: there's no such thing as enough. As long as one person has more than another, social justice is being thwarted. If, however, you're a capitalist, Obama's answer, as of today at least, is probably the Ben & Jerry's (ice cream) model - roughly ten times the amount earned by the lowest paid person in your organization. Over time, Progressive wisdom will undoubtedly tweak this to eight times, then five, then two, then parity. Ah, social justice at last. No other incentive is necessary.

Incentive! Spit after you say it. Progressives understand it's just a code word for greed. The absence of incentives in the public sector has nothing to do with its appalling performance. The problem, as anyone but a capitalist would know, is that every failed and failing program suffers from understaffing, and its Siamese twin, underfunding. Even with nothing to gain (or lose) by doing a good (or bad) job, the public sector presses forward, often absorbing the brickbats of unappreciative capitalists. Only capitalist refusals to pay their fair share of taxes are keeping these unnecessary, overpaid, Democrat-voting-block unionists from transforming America into the utopia envisioned by The Leader. (We love The Leader. If you're having any difficulty warming to him, try singing along with the choir of small children who were taught to sing his name and praises during the last campaign. It's still on YouTube. Keep a small bucket handy.)

To summarize today's lesson, government's insatiable appetite is not greed, or power lust. Only capitalists can be greedy. Make sure you understand where your candidates stand, and vote accordingly this November.