Max Baucus Was Right – ObamaCare CrazyTrain Wreck Will Be Brutal

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 2

A few months ago Montana senator Max Baucus committed political suicide by telling the truth. The finance committee chairman pulled back the ObamaCare curtain when he told Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “I just see a huge train wreck coming down.” He was immediately thrown under the Obama/Democrat bus and announced his retirement, relieved of the burden of living lie after lie for the benefit of his party.

The ObamaCare train is barreling down the tracks full speed even as we speak, and in a few months the inevitable, explosive wreck will occur when millions of Americans find that their employers have dropped their coverage, leaving them at the mercy of a government bureaucracy that doesn’t know what it’s doing, and the rest take a huge hit to the pocketbook, jolting the already-fragile economy.

Employers have been weighing whether to pay higher benefit costs or take the cheaper route of paying the penalties for dropping health care coverage. Neither is good for business, employees, or the economy. Workers who still have employer-provided health care will find their premium cost share much higher. Those who don’t will begin paying their own premiums to the government exchanges, which are years from being functional (if any government program can actually be functional). And employees who refuse to sign up will face stiff tax penalties at the end of the year.

Sebelius said, “I don’t know what he [Baucus] is looking at . . . we are on track to fully implement marketplaces in Jan. 2014, and to be open for open enrollment.” Yeah, right.

Enrollment is supposed to start October 1 – ninety days from now. Do you see any evidence that the Dept. of Hope and Change is ready to provide health care to millions and millions of new dependents? Is the health care exchange ready to go in your state? Have you been informed of your options?

The Obama administration soldiers on in the face of adversity, doing what it has always done when faced with a difficult problem – more campaigning. Sebelius is trying to enlist the NBA, NFL, and other celebrities to launch a propaganda campaign promoting ObamaCare. Response has been tepid, at best – not surprising, considering Kobe Bryant’s taxes will go up by a quarter million dollars because of ObamaCare.

Oh yeah, this is going to be ugly.

Conservatives in the House have voted to repeal parts or all of the train wreck, but it’s like putting pennies on the track – not going to even slow the behemoth down.

Of course we will all be watching – you can’t help but look at a train wreck, even though the carnage is gut-wrenching. Let’s just hope somebody steps forward in the upcoming elections who can clean up the mess from this crazy train.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’ve listened to preachers,
I’ve listened to fools,
I’ve watched all the dropouts,
Who make their own rules,
One person conditioned to rule and control,
The media sells it and you live the role.
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train!

Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne

Here’s some fun for all you Headbangers on the Right Side!

People Got To Be Free – Including Black People

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Freedom plate I have worried about the racial polarity evident in our elections. Minorities, especially blacks, have tended to vote in lockstep for Democrats. I don’t understand it, because I can’t see where Democrats have elevated the lives of African Americans in any way – in fact, the opposite seems to be true.

And from a personal standpoint, if a group told me day after day, year after year, generation after generation that I am not capable of taking care of myself and my family – that I am inferior to others and unable to compete – I would be furious.

I have never really believed the statistics we are presented about the black community’s political leanings. Everywhere I look there are black families who appear to believe in and live every principle of conservatism. It’s hard to accept that all of these people close the curtain and pull the “D” switch every time.

This week a Democrat state senator from Louisiana, Elbert Guillory, switched to the Republican party, with a very polished and carefully crafted video speech explaining his decision. Granted, the production had “campaign” written all over it, and Mr. Guillory will no doubt receive a great deal of notoriety. Still, the message he delivers is a perfect analysis of the state of political affairs in the black community.

I hope we will see a burgeoning “emancipation” movement among African Americans – a reach for freedom from generations of what Guillory calls “plantation” treatment at the hands of Democrats who have taken their loyalty for granted for far too long.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
I can`t understand it, so simple to me
People everywhere just got to be free

People Got To Be Free – Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals

Isn’t it strange how so many of the “Peace” and “Freedom” songs of the sixties are appropriate now? Today’s political “left side” claims these songs, but the roles are reversed – they are now the oppressors, the imperialists and the intolerant. Check out this great concert clip of Ringo Starr’s band with guest Felix Cavaliere.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back – the Obama Tango

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

DC Celebrates Inauguration With Gala Balls The relationship between government and citizens is a delicate dance. In recent years, our federal government has insisted on taking the lead role, forcing citizens to step consistently backward, giving up their personal freedoms and national dignity. But recently the music has changed, and our president takes us by the hand to do the “Obama Tango” – an intricate, passionate dance with steps forward and backward and all over the place.

The Obama Tango:

One step back: Congressional hearings reveal the utter and apparently willful failure of the administration to defend the Libya embassy compound and personnel, and attempt a disgraceful coverup by sending U.N. ambassador Susan Rice to lie about it on all the major TV networks.

One step forward: Benghazi-gate finally gets some mainstream media coverage as a result of the hearings.

One step back and a slap in the face: President Obama selects Rice as his next National Security Advisor. What a slap in the face to the families of those who died representing the USA and defending our embassy and personnel, and to the American people who have always believed the word security implies honesty.

Another step back: The federal government is caught abusing the privacy of reporters and news agencies including the Associated Press.

One step forward and a turn: The mainstream media, whose fawning and “thrill-up-the-leg -ing” over the “Unvetted One” was the single biggest factor in Obama’s election and re-election, turn against their former lover. While defense of the Constitution has not been a priority with the fourth estate for a long time, they are reminded that “freedom of the press” is in there somewhere. Mainstream America has a good laugh at Mainstream Media’s expense – serves them right.

One step back and a pelvic thrust: The IRS systematically targets conservative groups and contributors for harsh treatment over the last several years, while throwing lavish parties on the taxpayer’s dime. The administration pretends it knew nothing about their political adversaries getting screwed.

One step forward, then grab and double-slap: The media, already upset at Obama and his crew (see above), grabs the momentum and gives him a slap, followed by a back-slap when they learn that the EPA has been setting up hidden “man rooms” in warehouses where its employees relax with couches, TVs, microwaves, etc. instead of laboring at their desks.

Stand still: It turns out the NSA has been gathering phone, e-mail, credit, web traffic and other information about every US citizen without our knowledge or consent. Citizens ask why data is collected from everyone instead of just the bad guys. Obama says, “I believe in the right to privacy, but there are some tradeoffs involved in our need for security.”

One step forward, deep dip, and kiss: The Obama administration, in a surprising concession to hunters and stockmen, announces that the feds will lift the ridiculous protections for the gray wolf that was “reintroduced” to the lower 48 states, resulting in untold damage to livestock and the decimation of elk herds and moose in Montana and other western states.

After all these years of only stepping back, it’s refreshing to get in a few forward steps.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I take 2 steps forward, 2 steps back
We come together cuz opposites attract
It ain’t fiction, just a natural fact
We come together cuz opposites attract

Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract

Paula Abdul live in Japan, 1991 – kinda cheesey stage show, but the music is solid with a smokin’ band and backup vocalists.

You better THINK!

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Aretha - think As I have pointed out to you, my fellow Rockers on the Right Side, I get regular e-mails from the Obama camp. They ask me for $5 every day, and they assume that because I logged in to their website once during the last election campaign that I am one of them. It’s amazing to me that they are still gathering campaign contributions despite the fact that their leader is a lame duck in his second term.

Anyway, the messages are usually amusing. The Obama group often publishes a “letter” supposedly written by a kid to tug at my heartstrings and shame me into sending my daily $5. They want me to FEEL, but they certainly don’t want me to THINK.

A while back they used this one, ostensibly composed by a 17-year old whose father was murdered by one of his former employees, along with a UPS driver and three other employees:

Friend —

My dad, Reuven Rahamim, was killed this past September in a mass shooting. I was 17 years old, one of 15 children who lost a parent that day. I’m honoring his memory — and those of many others who have fallen — by doing something about gun violence.

Whether you’ve been personally affected by gun violence or not, you need to be part of this fight, too. Since my dad’s death, I’ve learned that my family’s experience is not as uncommon as one might expect. The statistics are horrifying: 12,000 Americans are murdered with guns every year. But the true toll of gun violence is borne by the tens of thousands of sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and wounded survivors left behind.

When I think of the number of lives that could have been saved by universal background checks or better access to mental health services, I simply don’t understand why Congress doesn’t act right away.

So join me in speaking out. Our stories from all across the country will reaffirm the all-too-real consequences of this unending violence and the need for sensible solutions. Share why you support legislation to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands.

I know my dad is watching right now as I fight alongside many other Americans for common-sense legislation. He deserves a vote. We all deserve a vote. Now is the time.

Thanks,
Sami Rahamim, Minneapolis, MN

Sad story, and probably a good kid. But think about it — this family is being used. No way any 17-year old product of our public schools wrote that letter. Look at the construction and vocabulary. How many teenagers use phrases like “the true toll” and “reaffirm the all-too-real consequences”? How many can correctly spell “borne”, let alone use the word in a sentence? If this letter had included the words “I’m like” twice in every sentence, I would trust that Sami wrote it, not a group of leftist zealots in a backroom of the White House.

The messages from the Obama camp are always simplistic and emotional. They never include any background from which the reader can make an informed decision. The premise of this letter is based on one statement: “12,000 Americans are murdered with guns every year.” Okay, who pulled the triggers — mostly drug dealers and gang-bangers? Who were the victims –mostly other drug-dealers and gang-bangers? How many of these murders took place in areas under strict gun-control laws? What is the real cause of gun violence, guns? Or is it drugs and gangs? And what are you doing about drugs and gangs, besides opening our borders to create more of both?

Unmentioned is this fact: gun violence decreased by 49% from 2003 to 2011, despite an increase in gun ownership.

Unfortunately, the average American is no longer capable of discernment. With our embarrassingly tiny little attention-spans, and having been thoroughly indoctrinated by the education/news media/government cabal to swallow everything shoveled our way, we are easily steered to the desired conclusion.

Call us “low-information voters”. “Sheeple.” “Slacktivists”.

Like Aretha says, “We Better Think.”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You better think (think)
Think about what you’re trying to do to me
Yeah, think (think, think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free

Let’s go back, let’s go back, let’s go way on way back when
I didn’t even know you, you couldn’t have been too much more than ten
I ain’t no psychiatrist, I ain’t no doctor with degree
It don’t take too much high IQ to see what you’re doing to me

Think – Aretha Franklin

You HAVE TO stop what you are doing and enjoy this classic cut – ‘Aretha, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Akroyd and Belushi, and the rest of the Blues Brothers – 1980

Obama Regime Kicks Max Baucus Under the Bus

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 3

Max Baucus I would bet that most of you who Rock with me On the Right Side probably are not on the President’s mailing list. I am.

Call it espionage, if you must. Actually, I just find the way the Obama regime manipulates its subjects so entertaining.

Today the administration is blasting Max Baucus for finally – finally – representing his Montana constituents. And as they almost always do, they lied to their gullible subscribers without shame. Here’s the e-mail they sent me:

Friend —

Senator Max Baucus is hoping you weren’t paying attention.

Last week, he was one of 45 senators who decided to stand with the gun lobby, blocking a bill to expand background checks — a measure that 79% of Montanans support.

OFA supporters across the country are holding their senators accountable — today, Senator Baucus needs to hear directly from the people who sent him to Washington. One simple, very public way of doing that is to get on Twitter.

Tweet @MaxBaucus now:

We have your senator’s Twitter handle and a sample tweet ready to go, but feel free to make it your own. As long as Senator Baucus hears from you today, that’s what counts. And believe me, the senator and his staff are watching their Twitter accounts pretty closely.

The reality is, keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable should be a no-brainer. It’s overwhelmingly popular. Senator Baucus could have easily stood up to the gun lobby and said, “I have to do what my constituents sent me here to do.”

Instead, he caved and we took a step backward in the fight to prevent gun violence.

Whenever this happens — whenever Congress chooses to cater to special interests at the expense of the common good — OFA is going to hold them accountable in a very public way.

It’s why we’re here.

After years of selling out to the big political contributors who got him re-elected six times, Baucus finally grew a spine. He admitted that the Obamacare program he co-sponsored is “a train wreck”. He voted against the Democrats embarrassingly bloated budget, saying it raised spending too much. He stood up to the over-reaching gun control extremists – and by the way, if you believe 79% of Montanans support gun control, you have never whiffed one breath of Big Sky air.

The left is on him like magpies on a road-killed whitetail. Washington Post: “Baucus Retires, A Grateful Nation Cheers”. The Daily Beast: “Good Riddance, Max Baucus”. And, of course, the divider-in-chief, through his puppets, grabs his smelly bite of scavenged meat, booting his once-faithful comrade to the curb with snarling contempt. Stay classy, Mr. President.

Announcing his retirement, Baucus said in an AP interview, “I don’t want to die here with my boots on. There is life beyond Congress.” I think it’s kind of cool that he finally bought a pair of boots. He hadn’t seen Montana for so long, I doubt he knows which one goes on which foot.

One of the last letters I wrote Senator Baucus was a promise. I told him that if he continued to push for ObamaCare I would do everything in my power to see that he would never be elected again. We both lost. ObamaCare became law, and Max will never be elected again.

I guess Montana lost twice, though. Here comes Brian Schweitzer.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

No one knows what it’s like to be the bad man
To be the sad man behind blue eyes.
No one knows what it’s like to be hated
To be fated to telling only lies

But my dreams they aren’t as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance that’s never free

Behind Blue Eyes – the Who
with rare footage – Keith Moon Speaks!

It’s Only Words

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

What they say to the public and the media:

WASHINGTON (AP) Nov. 7, 2012 – President Barack Obama is sounding a conciliatory tone after his re-election victory, saying he has learned from those who supported him and those who opposed him. And he says he returns to Washington “more determined” and “more inspired.”

He said he’s hoping to work with Republicans to solve the nation’s problems.

What they say to each other and their supporters (I am on the President’s mailing list and received this e-mail today):

Friend –I want to make one thing absolutely clear:

We’re up against a whole lot more than just opposition in Congress.

We’re up against interest groups with money to burn — organizations willing to drop every last penny they have to stop President Obama’s agenda in its tracks. We’re already seeing it on gun violence, and immigration reform — they’re going to spend millions to throw a wrench in the works of progress.

You can be damned sure that this is not going to stop.

Organizing for Action is going to shift the balance of power in Washington back to real people. People like you have shown over and over again that no amount of spending can stop millions of Americans calling for change.

It’s going to take each of us rolling up our sleeves, getting to work, and chipping in what we can when we can.

We have our first fundraising deadline this weekend. Donate $5 or more right now to become a founding member of this organization: https://donate.barackobama.com/First-Deadline

This is going to be fun. If we do this right, the other side won’t know what hit ’em.
Jim Messina, Chair – Organizing for Action

They have no intention of cooperating or “reaching across the aisle”. “The other side won’t know what hit ’em”, says Messina. They think it’s fun. It’s not about the future of the country. It’s not about school safety. It’s not about immigration reform. This is a game to them.

God help us.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You think that I don’t even mean
A single word I say
It’s only words, and words are all
I have to take your heart away

Words – the Bee Gees

Change – Be Careful What You Wish For

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

obama_change_01 I had an interesting conversation with a liberal this week – a junior manager who works very hard, earns a modest salary, and would like to improve his family’s standard of living.

Our business conversation had turned to the hesitancy on the part of business owners to invest. “No one is willing to pull the trigger on any major spending in the current political climate,” I said.

My friend asked, “What does politics have to do with whether or not a business owner wants to invest?”

I pointed out that politics and economics are inseparable. After all, the only thing a government can do is spend other people’s money. Everything the government does affects the economic environment, and conversely, voters and supporters of candidates make decisions based on their own current financial situations. Business owners are not confident right now that risking additional capital will provide them with any financial reward.

“Well I have always been a liberal,” my friend said. “And I agree with you, nobody wants to spend for anything right now.”

I let him talk.

“Nobody wants to upgrade their facilities or hire more employees. They just don’t know if customers will be able to afford to buy their products.”

I nodded. Keep thinking, young man.

“You know,” he continued, “wages sure aren’t what they used to be – if you can find a job at all. People can’t afford to buy houses and cars and other things because they just aren’t making enough money.”

He was on a roll.

“If nobody can afford to buy things, why would you want to build a new store or hire more people?” he concluded. “Times are tough.”

I wanted so badly to deliver my speech about how government waste, corruption and misguided overspending takes a huge bite out of our GDP and personal wealth. About how government social policies discourage savings and personal responsibility. About how federal fiscal policy has devalued our dollar, destroyed our balance of trade and built an insurmountable debt. About how we have become a nation of undereducated, disengaged sheeple, victim to any media-savvy, slick-talking promiser-in-chief.

I wanted to ask, “So why are you a liberal?” Instead, I shook my head and said, “Gee, I wonder what has changed?”

He didn’t answer. But the concerned look on his face told me he knew.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet

Changes – David Bowie

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No, It’s a Drone.

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

p51mustang Flashback: 1995, Manhattan, Kansas. I had just bought a home near Lake Tuttle and was out on my first Saturday motorbike cruise to check out the neighborhood. Down the road a few miles I came upon a large, open field and a cluster of men looking skyward in intense concentration.

I stopped to see what was going on. It was the local radio-controlled aircraft club, passionately engaged in their hobby on a beautiful, blue-sky Kansas afternoon. Their airplanes and helicopters were meticulously fabricated and painted – most were replicas of famous propeller-driven war-planes. The craftsmanship required to build and maintain such machines is only exceeded by the dexterity it takes to get and keep one aloft and under control. These guys were way beyond that, and I was mesmerized watching them guide their craft through acrobatic spins, dives, tricks, and mock battles. Takeoffs and landings were precise, if abrupt. Given the cost of these birds and the hours of work invested, crashes are uncommon.

Funny how we miss events and trends that ultimately have a huge impact. It never occurred to me on that prairie afternoon that this hobby would rapidly evolve into a multi-billion dollar industry, a constitutional crisis, and a sea-change in military and security strategy.

Drone Today we call them drones, and as we speak you may have one quietly buzzing over your head, perhaps observing you.

Our armed forces were quick to take advantage of drone technology – at first for reconnaissance, but soon after for actual combat missions. The use of machines to reduce risks to our soldiers won wide-spread support from political leaders and citizens alike. But as their use proliferated the ethical line in the sand seemed to move.

Americans were pleased to learn that Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man, Ayman al Zawahiri, was one of many Al Qaeda bad-asses sent to meet their maker by Predator drones in recent months. But concerns mounted when a drone strike killed American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki and three other Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen, and a few days later, another drone took out al-Awlaki’s 16-year old Denver-born son, who, according to his family, was not a terrorist.

“To kill a teenager is just unbelievable, really, and they claim that he is an al-Qaeda militant. It’s nonsense,” said Nasser al-Awlaki, a former Yemeni agriculture minister who was Anwar al-Awlaki’s father and the boy’s grandfather, speaking in a phone interview from Sanaa on Monday. “They want to justify his killing, that’s all.” (quote from the Washington Post)

Senator Rand Paul takes the Constitution seriously, and literally. He filibustered the Senate for 13 hours last week to challenge the authority of President Obama – or any American, for that matter – to assassinate another American without due process. “The ‘drone debate’ isn’t over,” Paul declared. “I wanted everybody to know that our Constitution is precious and no American should be killed by a drone without first being charged with a crime.”

The market for military drones will reach $90 billion over the next ten years, according to the Teal Group. And applications for use in the private sector, as well as domestic law enforcement, are only starting to heat up.

Watching those pretty toy planes maneuvering above the Kansas prairie almost twenty years ago, I didn’t see the huge future implications. It makes me wonder what else I’m missing as I observe ordinary life today.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

A shout out to the Vietnam vets –

Sky pilot
Sky pilot
How high can you fly
You’ll never, never, never reach the sky

Sky Pilot – Eric Burdon

If I Had a Million Dollars, I’d Live Like a Retired Govt. Worker

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 9

As a kid I thought it must really be something to be a millionaire. We read “Richie Rich” comic books and imagined how cool it would be to live in a mansion, with servants and cooks and an indoor swimming pool.

Of course, it was the impossible dream. Only a rare few Americans could ever be that rich, and they were born to wealthy families. Still, back then, life was good for most Americans. Dads went to work, paid the bills, bought modest homes and Chevies, and took the family on a summer road trip to Mount Rushmore. Moms stayed home, raised the 2.1 kids, attended PTA meetings, and always had a hot, healthy meal ready when Dad came home from work.

What happened?

A million bucks sure isn’t what it used to be. With CDs paying maybe 1% interest at best, those who worked hard and saved a million dollars can now look forward to a retirement income of – wow – $10,000 a year. Add that to social security income, of course, but still. No indoor swimming pool. No servants.

And it’s not like there are other investment opportunities for retirees. The only guys making money in the stock market are the hedge fund operators and the machine traders buying and selling at the speed of light. Municipal bonds pay a couple percent and are tax free – oh that’s right, most city and county governments are bankrupt.

There is one group of really wealthy American retirees. Retired unionized government workers get guaranteed pensions. Most receive over $60,000 per year. There are many government employees who toiled for 25 or 30 hard years, sometimes even working over 35 hours per week behind a hard, cold desk with only 7 weeks of vacation and 15 holidays off each year. Poor souls, at retirement they must make do with $100k per year plus full medical benefits.

Do the math. In order to pay a retired teacher $60k per year, we American taxpayers are putting up $6 million at 1% interest. The retired county engineer who receives a $100k pension requires a taxpayer investment of $10 million to fund his checks.

In an economy where many moms and dads both work long hours and are barely able to feed their families, let alone save anything for retirement, it’s hard to feel sorry for government employees who will retire with multi-million dollar nest eggs.

When I see a headline like this:

Obama Sequester Speech: Republicans Are Putting Economy At Risk To Help The Wealthy

I shake my head in amazement at the level of deceit our President and his followers continue to get away with.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
We’d take a limousine cause it costs more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft dinner

If I Had A Million Dollars – Barenaked Ladies

You’re A Rich Girl

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 2

With so much recent talk about the rich, the poor, and fairness, maybe we should take a deeper look at wealth in America.

US_real_median_household_income_1967_-_2011 Real median household income in the US is about $50,000 per year. This includes wages, business income, and most forms of government assistance. Household income is roughly the same as it was in 1989, adjusted for inflation, after declining about 8 percent since President Obama took office.

There are many ways to categorize people by income. Location is one – Maryland residents top the list in per family income, largely because of the number of federal employees who work nearby in the nation’s capital. Montana ranks 44th.

One’s race, unfortunately, still affects income, with Asians doing the best and blacks worst. Education is also a factor, and the earnings curve between high-school dropouts and those with advanced college degrees is steep.

Statistics like these might suggest that we are doomed by our birth demographics. Not so. Consider that one of the biggest factors in one’s earning power is age. Younger people earn less – it’s just a fact of life. Younger people have less education. The average age of minorities is disproportionately younger. Age affects all the other classifications.

A recent shift in earnings and wealth is troubling – while the overall real median household income is somewhat stable, the income of workers has declined steadily as the income of those on government payments has increased. Some of this is the result of the graying of America, but government assistance programs have expanded significantly.

Still, whether an American household (the term ‘family’ has become obsolete with the demise of the institution of marriage) receives its income by redistribution from workers or directly from work, we live relatively well compared to the rest of the world. Comparison of real income is difficult because of currency exchange and other factors, and there are many ways to measure wealth. Only ten nations exceed our GDP per capita. While it is often said that most of the world’s citizens live on less than $2 per day, per capita GDP statistics indicates otherwise.

Our poorest citizens live like kings compared to the average Indian or African. We should ask why. What do we have that these other nations don’t? Many of them have tremendous natural resources – that’s not it. I will not accept that people from other parts of the world are just born inferior to Americans.

The answer, to me, is obvious. Our nation was built on the principles of free enterprise, unlimited opportunity, and limited government. We overlook this fact at our peril, and unless we restore the culture of productivity our grandparents championed, our grandchildren will pay a dear price.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You’re a rich girl,
And you’ve gone too far
‘Cause you know it don’t matter anyway
You can rely on the old man’s money
You can rely on the old man honey

Rich Girl – Hall and Oates