Run From the Fire

Getting burned is painful, and sometimes it leaves a scar, so I suggest staying away from fire. What better way to not get burned, yes? Well, along those lines, I suggest staying away from Bernie Sanders… or our country will definitely get BERNED! Here are three simple reasons I don’t think Bernie Sanders is the right leader of this great republic we call America, along with some general ranting that I couldn’t resist.

#3- I already feel the bern. The federal government and the state government already see a decent amount of my hard-earned money in the form of income tax, sales taxes, levies, bonds, property taxes, etc. I anticipate getting less of my own money if Bernie is elected. I work for a three-(wo)man corporation. I anticipate operating expenses, payroll taxes, and other fees increasing on the corporate level. I’m not sure that my boss will want to take a hit to her income… so what does that mean for me and my co-worker?

#2- If I want to spend my hard-earned cash on 18 pair of shoes, I should be able to. Yes, 18 pair of shoes may be a little excessive (I actually am in the vicinity of 29 pair). But who is Bernie Sanders, or anyone else, to tell me what I can buy with my money?? Here’s a fun article from the Washington Post about Bernie’s ridiculous comments on deodorant, and footwear.

#1- Socialism has never worked on a large scale, anywhere in the world… PERIOD.

Merriam Webster tells me that Socialism is a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies. Google tells me that Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

The Social Security fund is practically bankrupt. We have lifetime politicians that are completely out of touch with what it means to be a working American. We have a presidential front-runner that is a proven liar, and is being investigated by the FBI. I can’t understand why anyone thinks the government should have MORE control than they already do! The anti-corporation people hate corporations because they have been so successful in building dynasties with enormous profit-margins. If the government takes control of these industries, does anyone for ONE SECOND believe the success will continue? For a short time, sure… but it will no doubt go crashing to the ground eventually, or bern up in flames.

A quick example; if a corporate big-wig can get something produced for $1, and keep profits up for his shareholders (and also continue employing thousands of people), he will. When the government steps in with their prevailing-wage mindset, the new Big Brother CEO will produce the same product for $5, and will either cut the number of people employed by the company, OR maybe take advantage of the wealth being spread and take a government bailout to keep operating above expenses. Shareholders, AKA… you and me that have our retirement banked on mutual funds will see our profits dry up. Sounds like good business, eh?

Our founding fathers created this independent country to be controlled by the people because government shouldn’t be in control. Government is a necessary evil and should be used carefully to protect our constitution, not control our economy and divvy out it’s resources at its whim.

The American Dream isn’t about getting handed your portion, and some of someone else’s portion. The American Dream is all about working your ass off, dealing with the hand you’ve been dealt in life, doing your best, and getting the opportunity to succeed. Look at Oprah, Eminem, JK Rowling, and Abraham Lincoln.

The rich-people-and-corporation-haters act like these groups are the devil and the cause of all of our nation’s problems. I was in our local natural foods store and noticed a sign behind the desk that said, “Corporations are NOT people”. Interesting. What are corporations made of? Aliens? Robots? As previously mentioned, I work for a corporation. There are three of us in the office. We are all three middle class, raising families, or getting ready to start families. We have average homes, and just simply do the best we can every day. Our corporation is people… it is three employees, it is our families, and it is our clients.

Obviously there are lots of ‘big’ corporations that profits exceed my wildest dreams and employees are countless. But why are we trying to ostracize them? There may be a handful of deep pockets in the company, but usually they employ thousands of people and if they are THAT profitable, they provide a product or service that we enjoy, buy, or need. Corporations come in all sizes and shapes, have all different kinds of CEOs, and some are charitable, while some are the epitome of corporate greed. We can’t legitimately put all corporations in the same box.

XYZ Inc and Richy Rich in Beverly Hills are not America’s problem. If we tax the wealthy and the corporations to the highest extent of the law (which doesn’t even exist in the Constitution, just FYI)… will America be peaceful? Will the racial barriers be broken? Will our children grow up safer? Will teens no longer be committing suicide? Will Miss America finally find world peace?

It’s so easy to point fingers at ‘corporations’ or ‘rich people’. Not to drop a bomb, but money is not our problem. This country has so much money! Our problem is apathy, and lack of self-worth, and lack of personal responsibility. There will always be douche bags, whether we remain a constitutionally-respecting republic or fall into the hands socialism. You can’t force people to care, but you can take away the benefits of not caring and not taking responsibility.

Teens are getting pregnant by the thousands, and rather than us as a society condemning it, we encourage it. Here, have a free phone, free housing, free food, free medical care, free school. SOMEONE IS PAYING FOR THAT!

Earned Income credit… when I was a young single mom, I loved tax season. Because I got a bunch of someone else’s taxes back. It was great! How is that fair? Someone is working hard to make their money, and someone else… who is more than likely also receiving other benefits paid for by someone else’s taxes, gets a nice fat return at the end of the year.

Our country doesn’t encourage hard work. It rewards laziness. I see Hiring signs everywhere. Some for skilled laborers, and some are for waitressing, cashiers, drivers, jobs all across the board. I don’t know about you, but I know plenty of people that just choose not to work.

Just for the record… I am not against a healthy welfare system. But, a healthy welfare system is one that provides temporary assistance and has the ultimate goal of helping people out of their current situation. Do you know that if a child has parents on welfare, they are much more likely to be on welfare as an adult? Reagan said it best, “Welfare’s purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.” Our system is broken. Pouring more of someone else’s money into a broken system does not fix it.

My family sponsors children in Haiti through Compassion International. I was reading an article about a man that had grown up in the program and now had a child of his own. He was asked if his daughter was in the program. He scoffed and was a little confused. Of course not… he had been given the assistance he needed to break the cycle of poverty and was able to provide for his family. Why can’t this be the story of America’s poor? Will socialism write this story? No, it won’t. We are already pouring millions into the welfare system, and it isn’t successful in helping our most needy… it is holding them down.

There is a college scholarship available in Washington State that students who qualify for free or reduced lunch can apply for in eighth grade. As long as they graduate from high school with at least a C average, AND STILL QUALIFY FOR FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH, they receive a college scholarship for a state-funded college or university in Washington. How does this not promote staying poor? People say that poor people don’t choose to be poor… well, I’m here to say that some do. I can’t afford to send my three kids to college. But, if I would’ve gotten on welfare as a single mom, remained a live-in girlfriend rather than got married, my kids wouldn’t be worrying about how to pay for college right now. And along that road, I would’ve saved thousands of dollars on food, and who knows what else. I can see the pull to stay ‘poor’.

Our country is so great, and so messed up at the same time. I believe that most people have good intentions, but sometimes I just can’t figure out what they are thinking. Especially those that have Bernie Sanders bumper stickers, and Bernie’s face plastered in their windows (Suggested read: 1984 :)) I think limiting a government that has a proven track record, protecting freedom, not penalizing people for being successful, and creating a welfare environment that encourages families to rise above poverty is a really good start to getting us back on track.

I heard that the optimal length of a blog post is 500 words. I failed at that. But hopefully I got some good points across. Thank you for reading!