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Are We Losing That Dream?
by James Glaser August 22, 2012 
I know it says in our Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, but that is not quite true. Even in my prime I could never play football in the NFL or Major League baseball. Heck, I wasn't even a star in little league, but I can do a lot of things those sports stars can't do and a couple of them have bought my art work and a furniture piece. That doesn't mean that I have fewer rights than sports stars or the very rich, it just means that we are all different, and that opportunities do not present themselves to all of us equally. However, all Americans have the ability and the right to take part in the American dream. I really believe that each one of us can make it to the "top" if we try hard enough. Also, that "top" can be different for each person. It bothers me when I realize that President Barack Obama does not understand what it takes to make it to whatever a person thinks is the "top" in the business world. Just like I could never become a great professional sports star, many people will never make it in the business world. It doesn't matter how great their teachers were or how great our transportation system in America is, some people just don't have that flair for business that will bring them success. Yes, there are people born to riches in this country, and all they have to do is not lose their family fortune, but what makes America so great is that the rest of us still have the chance to "make it" and reach whatever goal we set for ourselves. Think about this, Barack Obama becoming President shows us this is true. Here is what I see happening in the United States right now. A person like me can take some raw materials like rough lumber, and with a certain amount of creativity, manufacture a piece of furniture that is different in design and of the highest quality of construction, and then sell that for a premium price. They have to pay for their materials, the tools they used, and the utilities needed to run their equipment, all the added expenses like advertising, shipping, sales tax, and many other expenses. Now, if there is a profit made after paying all expenses, you have to pay the Government, your Social Security, Medicare, and Income Tax. And in some states you have to pay an added income tax to the State. All of that is understandable. What I don't understand is that if a person creates that great piece of furniture or any other sellable item, and decides to take to the next step, and then the next step, and ends up with a successful business with employees and a factory big or small, the President is not willing to give him any credit for his amazing creation of not only the thing he creates to sell, but the business he created to produce that product in the numbers that allow him to hire people, buy or lease a building, maybe buy trucks to transport his product to market, and pay innumerable numbers of people to help him keep and expand his business. For some crazy reason President Obama cannot see that it takes a special person to create a business of any size. Some stay small, but a few make it to the big league like some sport start makes it in his or her sport. President Obama, knowingly or not, wants to end that American dream of making it to the top. He doesn't believe that an individual has any special talent or that it takes an unbelievable amount of time effort and sacrifice to make it to the top in your own business. Big or small, every business takes an amazing amount of effort to be successful and stay successful. Some people employ three people and feel they have reached their goal and are happy, others keep expanding and end up employing hundreds, maybe thousands before they feel they have made it. One thing in common with a big or small business is that you are always keeping the economy going. Even a one-man operation ends up buying business cards, does a little advertising, hires an accountant, and pays sales and license fees on top of every other tax Americans pay. The larger they get, the more expenses they pay, and the more they help keep the economy going. Barack Obama doesn't see it that way. Under Obama's way of thinking no one person makes it to the top with their hard work. In his view, it is the government that is making it for you. And because the government has done so much for you, Barack Obama wants to take even more of whatever you are left with after you pay all your expenses. Your employing some people or many for that matter makes no difference. Your business might be so big that you create new jobs with the people who supply you with the services and materials the company you created needs. None of that counts. The government in Barack Obama's eyes made your company possible, and because of Barack Obama's belief that you couldn't make it without government, you don't deserve the fruits of your labor. Why strive for excellence if you can't keep what you make? Why put in the effort if you will never be recognized for what you have done. Barack Obama is taking away our American Dream, and you know what? When dreams die, there is no hope for change. |
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